5D's Alternative Book 2: The False King
by Count Morningstar
Summary: Jack has reigned as the champion of Neo Domino. But when Yusei finally returns from Satellite, Jack's reign comes to an abrupt end and he quickly finds out that he may not be as strong a champion as he thought. Then he meets a certain reporter who ends up changing his life. Meanwhile, the Skeleton Knight finally makes a move.
1. Prologue

**Introduction:** One of the big things that prevented me from starting the 5D's Alternative series for so long was deciding whether or not to do it as multiple stories or just one big story. I really wanted to do a story about Yusei and Aki that featured Aporia as the villain. But at the same time I also wanted to do a story about Jack and a certain nerdy reporter that we all know and love. It all seemed so big for just one story, so in the end I decided to just do a trilogy. So without further delay, here's Book 2.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Also, the character of Raven (who will appear later in the story) is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Prologue

Jack Atlas sat alone in a dull grey rectangular interrogation room for what seemed like two hours. He could not be certain how much time had passed since the guards escorted him in there. There was no clock on any of the walls in the room. At the very least, the room was a slight improvement over the cramped holding cell he had been placed in. What Jack didn't understand though was why he was brought back into interrogation. The trial was over and he and the rest of his Duel Gang had already been sentenced.

Not very long ago, Jack and his three friends, Yusei Fudo, Crow Hogan, and Kiryu Kyosuki, had formed their own Duel Gang, Team Satisfaction. It was Kiryu's idea to form the gang. Together they fought all the other gangs on Satellite and eventually conquered them all. But then Kiryu went mad with power. With no other Duel Gangs to fight, Kiryu decided to take on Security. And on a rainy night during such an attempt, Kiryu ended up killing a guard.

All of Team Satisfaction had been arrested that night. It was a speedy trial. Kiryu of course got the worst sentence out of the four of them. He was to be sent to the lowest level of the worst prison known in Satellite, the Pit. It was said by many that being sent to the bottom of the Pit was practically a death sentence. Crow on the other hand got off fairly easy. For some reason beyond Jack's understanding, Crow was to be sent to a minimum-security prison, where he would spend only a few short months. Jack and Yusei on the other hand were being sent to the Pit as well. Only unlike Kiryu, they were being placed in the middle level where they would only spend a few years. Though for Jack, it was a few years too many.

Ever since that night they had all been arrested, Jack had been kicking himself a bit for trying to help Kiryu and Yusei. At the first sign of Kiryu's descent into madness, Jack and Crow had enough sense to leave the team. But when they both heard that Kiryu was in trouble, they both went back to help. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do. After all, the four of them did grow up together. They were practically brothers. But what did Jack have to show for trying to help these two brothers? He had been sentenced to years in prison, and very soon he was probably going to be branded with a criminal mark on his perfect face. Jack wasn't sure which of those two things he disliked more.

At long last, the door to the room opened and a man walked in. He had very pale skin and long silvery-white hair, and wore a light-grey suit with an off-white shirt that showed a black bird-like design on the front. The man's hands were folded behind his back. To Jack, the gentleman didn't look like any sort of Security officer or detective he'd ever seen before. He looked more like a politician, or at the very least someone who had a good deal of wealth. From the way the man's hair looked, Jack assumed that he used some sort of imported European shampoo that cost almost as much as a small car.

The man sat down across the table from Jack. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Atlas. My name is Rex Goodwin, and I am the director of Neo Domino Security."

"Why is some big shot from the city interrogating me?" Jack asked with crossed arms.

"This isn't an interrogation Jack." Rex told him. "This room seemed like the most suitable place for us to make a deal."

"What sort of deal?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll be blunt." Rex began as he propped his chin on his white-gloved hands. "You've landed yourself in a very dismal situation. But there is a way out. Those sentenced to the middle level of what you call the Pit can duel for their early release. A prisoner who wins a hundred straight duels has his sentence lifted."

"So you're saying I can get out early by beating a hundred opponents?" Jack asked. "Seems like a piece of cake."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Rex continued. "The hundredth duel is always against a special prisoner called an eliminator. And anyone who duels an eliminator always lose."

"Well none of these eliminators have ever faced me." Jack confidently pointed out.

"True. I'm sure there isn't one eliminator down in the Pit who could match your skill." Rex agreed. "But I'm here to tell you that it would be more beneficial for you to become an eliminator yourself."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I said before that eliminators are special prisoners in the Pit." Rex reminded him. "Eliminators who win fifty duels in a row are rewarded with early release from the prison."

"So you're saying that by becoming one of these eliminators, I could get out in half the time." Jack realized.

"Correct." Rex confirmed. "But in your case you would be winning much more than that. Upon your victory you would be brought to Neo Domino, where you would have a shot at becoming the city's duel champion."

"And just what would you be getting out of all this?" Jack asked with a suspicious eye. "Why pick me out of all the others being dumped in that hell hole?"

"I'm simply the type of person who hates seeing such good talent go to waste." Rex smiled. "I've read your file and am well aware of your level of dueling skill. The fact is that the city needs a champion like you to inspire its people. But the choice is yours. You can either take the fast track to glory, or struggle your way down the slow track to a continued life in Satellite."

Jack didn't exactly buy Goodwin's reason for offering this deal to him. He seemed like the type of person who was always hiding something. On the other hand, Jack had nothing to lose and it was a very promising offer. Not only would he be getting out of the pit early, he'd have a life in the city and a shot at becoming the undisputed king of dueling. Jack liked the sound of that. The more he thought about it, the choice seemed obvious. But there was just one more thing Jack had to ask.

"Tell me something, Goodwin. If I agreed to this offer of yours, would my face be marked like any other prisoner?" Jack asked.

"Don't be silly, Jack. It wouldn't be proper for our city's champion to look like a common criminal." Rex assured him.

"Then in that case, I'm in." Jack finally agreed.

"Excellent. Then accept this card as a sign of our agreement." Rex replied as he took a Duel Monsters card from his pocket.

Jack took the card. It was a Synchro monster depicting a black and red dragon with three tan horns on its head. The two horns on the sides of its head curved forward, while the third horn went straight back.

Jack read the name of the card. "Red Dragon Archfiend?"

"That card will serve you well." Rex assured him. "Let it be a symbol of your power."

"Well, 3000 ATK points are quite good." Jack admitted. "I think I'm going to like using this card."

"I'm glad you approve. I feel I should tell you one thing though. Chances are you might end up facing your friend, Yusei Fudo, down in the Pit." Rex pointed out. "I hope that will not pose a problem for you."

"It's because of Yusei and Kiryu that I ended up in this mess in the first place." Jack reminded him. "Yusei can rot in hell, for all I care. Besides, I don't care who I have to face to become king."

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Chapter one is already up, so go on ahead. And of you like, review and let me know what you think.


	2. Great White Hope

**Author's Note:** The title of this first chapter is also a sing from the Styx album, _Pieces of Eight_. The song more or less served as inspiration for coming up with this first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven (who shall appear later) is the creation of sammycrusinix.

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Chapter 1: "Great White Hope"

_Jack found himself walking through an open field under a blood red sky. Just how he had gotten there or when, he could not recall. In a matter of seconds he came upon what looked like a circus with a large black and red tent at the center. Jack did not care much for the circus and he normally would've avoided going to the one he had found. Yet he found that he was being compelled to go there by some odd force._

_In moments he was up in front of the big top. Jack stopped in front of a large sign right by the empty ticket booth. The sign read, "Come one! Come all! See the amazing Jack Atlas!"_

_"Well, aren't you going to go in?" a voice suddenly asked. "It's a free show."_

_Jack turned around to see a young man who looked exactly like him, save for a few major details. His eyes were black with red irises and he wore a red version of Jack's normal long white jacket._

_"Who the bloody hell are you?" Jack demanded to know._

_"Would you believe me if I said I was your conscience?" Jack's dark twin chuckled. Jack was not at all amused. "Not in the mood for jokes, I see. Ah well. It doesn't matter who I am, at the moment. All that matters is that I'm here to show you the truth. And the truth is right inside that tent."_

_"What sort of truth could be in a circus tent?" Jack asked. "Do you really expect me to go in there?"_

_"What have you got to lose? After all, this is a dream." Dark Jack pointed out. "For now, you might as well play along."_

_Jack thought about it for a moment, and decided that if he was really dreaming it was only a matter of time before he woke up. He went along with he doppelganger's suggestion and went inside the tent. Dark Jack followed close behind. In moments, the pair found two available seats inside the dimly lit tent. It was a packed house. Jack found that he couldn't distinguish any faces in the large audience, and it wasn't simply because of the darkness of the big top._

_Down under the spotlight in the center ring, a short clown with pinkish hair was finishing up a juggling act. Jack recognized the clown as Jaeger, Rex Goodwin's annoying little minion. As soon as the clown's act ended, the faceless audience applauded and Jaeger took a bow. Afterwards, Rex came into the ring wearing a top hat and a tuxedo with a red jacket and grey pants._

_"And now the moment you've all been waiting for, ladies and gentlemen!" Rex announced. "Neo Domino Circus is proud to present our main attraction! The magnificent Jack Atlas!"_

_Riding out under the spotlight on a white unicycle was a monkey dressed exactly like Jack. It even had a blonde wig styled exactly like Jack's hair. Many of the audience members were laughing at the little primate. Most of the women in the audience were commenting on how cute the monkey Jack Atlas looked. Jack on the other hand was furious._

_"What the hell kind of joke is this?" Jack shouted as he stood up from his chair._

_"It's no joke." Dark Jack replied with a smug grin and crossed arms. "This is what you've become, a sideshow for the public's amusement."_

_Before Jack could argue, he suddenly found that he was under the light in the center ring. He tried to ask what was going on, but all that came out of his mouth were the grunting and squeaking noises of a monkey. Jack looked at his hands and saw hairy paws. As the audience laughed at him Jack let out a primal inhuman screech._

* * *

Jack shot up in bed, cold sweat on his brow. He looked at his hands and saw that they were human. After letting out a relieved sigh, Jack got up and pulled the drapes to his large bedroom window. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the harsh light of the morning sun. But the sun shining over the courtyard of the Goodwin mansion was a welcome sight after having such a vivid and unsettling dream.

After a few minutes, Jack finally brushed it off as nothing more than a bad dream that meant nothing and went about getting dressed. As soon as he finished putting on his usual outfit, Jack went down to the large dining hall. At his normal seat at the end of the table he found his usual cup of Blue-Eyes Mountain Coffee waiting for him. The rich dark aroma beckoned to Jack to sit down. Almost as soon as Jack had taken his first sip of the hot liquid, a woman with short blue hair wearing a blue jacket walked into the room. This woman was Jack's personal assistant, Mikage.

"Good morning, Mr. Atlas." Mikage greeted in her usual cheerful manor as she sat down in her usual chair on Jack's right. "You have a fairly light schedule for today. At 10:30, you have a commercial shoot for the new…"

Jack only half listened to Mikage as she went through his schedule for the day, something that she had done every morning ever since Jack became champion. Jack had learned quickly that even being a king had its downsides. With the title of champion had also come boring endorsement meetings, tedious commercial shoots, and the occasional autograph signing. Jack had grown a little tired of signing his own name over and over again.

"…Oh, and you have a match this afternoon." Mikage informed him.

At this, Jack gave his assistant his full attention. "So what loser am I up against today?"

"Well according this, his name's Chet McClure." Mikage read from her notes. "He's the five time winner of the Sun City Grand Prix."

"Another hic town champion." Jack scoffed. "When is Goodwin ever going to send me some real competition?"

"He's supposed to be quite good." Mikage assured him. "They call him the Shining Knight."

"Well I supposed he could be good for a laugh at least." Jack decided as he finished his coffee. "He certainly won't be shining once I'm through with him."

"Yes, well you can defeat Mr. McClure later." Mikage told him as she stood up. "Right now we have a commercial shoot to get to."

* * *

Young reporter, Carly Nagisa got into her small car and turned the ignition. The engine struggled for a moment and failed to start. She tried a second time and still nothing. Sighing heavily, Carly got out of the car and went around to the back. She was already running very late due to her alarm clock failing to go off at the proper time. The last thing needed that morning was to deal with her temperamental vehicle. Had she more money, Carly would trade in her old car for something newer and much more reliable, or at the very least get her car some decent repairs. But as what little income she made had to be put towards food and rent, Carly was forced to make due with the car she had.

Carly gave the back of her car one hard kick. The kick was just enough to rouse the engine from its slumber. Carly hurried to the front of the vehicle, tripping momentarily along the way. Once back in the driver's seat, she quickly buckled up and took off down the road. After Carly had gotten only a few blocks away from her apartment building, the cell phone mounted on the dashboard suddenly projected the holographic image of an older and somewhat overweight man with grey hair and a mustache.

_"Carly!"_ the projection shouted, causing Carly to swerve and almost hit a mailbox on the side of the road. _"Do you have any idea what time it is? Where the hell are you?"_

"Sorry chief." A frightened Carly told the projection of her boss.

_"Never mind that."_ The chief said a little more calmly. _"I got an assignment for you. I want you to get an interview with Jack Atlas."_

"You want _me_ to get an interview with Jack?" Carly asked for confirmation, her face lighting up.

_"Yeah. Normally I'd give the job to someone else, but right now I've got everyone in Satellite trying to dig up dirt on what happened to the Infinity Triad."_ The chief explained. _"So right now, you're all I've got."_

"You can count on me, chief!" Carly enthusiastically replied.

_"Just get the thing on my desk as soon as you can."_ The chief's hologram ordered before vanishing.

Carly knew very well about the story her editor and chief had sent his other reporters out on. Only two weeks ago, the shadowy group that ran the island of Satellite, known as the Infinity Triad, had suddenly and inexplicably vanished off the face of the earth. The event seemed to coincide somewhat with a peculiar solar eclipse that astronomers had still been unable to explain. All that and the fact that the Infinity Triad was such a mysterious group to begin with made the story greatly alluring to Carly. But at the moment, Carly was far more excited about her current assignment.

The simple fact was that Carly was a raging Jack Atlas fan. She even harbored a secret crush on the duel king of Neo Domino. And now she was going to actually be able to talk to him. At that moment, Carly felt like she was in heaven.

"Looks like this is going to be a great day after all, huh Carly?" a gentle high voice spoke, startling Carly and causing her to almost run into a parked car on the side of the road.

After getting the car back on course, Carly looked to her left and saw a small fairy-like being that resembled a girl with short blonde hair wearing a gold dress. At the sides of her head, her hair was styled into a pair of feathered wings. Carly knew this being well as Fortune Fairy Hikari. Out of the six Fortune Fairies, Hikari was the youngest, and the most friendly.

"Hikari, how many times have I told you not to startle me like that when I'm driving?" Carly reminded her.

"Oh, sorry." Hikari replied, looking a little bit ashamed. "But this great, isn't it? I mean you get to meet and interview your most favorite person in the world."

"Yeah. I am totally excited about it." Carly admitted with a beaming smile.

"You'll probably just screw it up though." Another familiar voice mocked. "You always do."

Carly didn't have to look to know whom the voice belonged to. It was another Fortune Fairy, one with long dark-purple hair styled with wings and a lavender dress. This was the second oldest of the Fortune Fairies, Fortune Fairy Ann.

"Why do you always have to be so mean Ann?" an upset Hikari asked.

"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is." Ann replied indifferently. "Carly always screws things up because she's a major screw up herself."

"You take that back!" Hikari demanded on the verge of tears.

"Now, now. Calm down, both of you." Another familiar voice cut in.

Carly instantly recognized it as the voice of the eldest Fortune Fairy sister, who had short brown hair also styled with wings, an orange dress, and big glasses that were almost like Carly's. It was Fortune Fairy Chee.

"The two of you shouldn't fight, especially not while Carly's driving." Swee told her two younger sisters.

"I totally agree. The two of you are being quite uncivilized." Another familiar voice interrupted.

Carly which Fortune Fairy the voice belonged to, but glanced anyway for confirmation. Sure enough, it was the third oldest of the sisters, who had long dark-blue hair and the light blue dress, Fortune Fairy Swee. Swee was sipping from a cup of tea, as she often did. Carly never understood where it was Swee got the tea. After all, her card never showed her with a cup of tea. But then there was much about the Fortune Fairies that Carly didn't understand. Like how she could even see or hear them in the first place.

Carly first met the Fortune Fairies when she got their cards in a deck she had received on her eleventh birthday. She realized very quickly that she was the only one who could see or hear them, and kept the fact that she could a secret from everyone else. Even at that age, Carly was smart enough to realize that if she told her parents or teachers that she spoke to invisible fairies that only seemed to exist as playing cards, they would send her to a therapist who would most likely throw her in an institution and put her on heavy medication.

"Besides, we all know that Ann is right." Swee continued. "Carly is bound to screw up this interview somehow. The fact is it's in Carly's nature. Misfortune follows her like a shadow. We all know it."

"That's enough Swee." Chee told her. "We all need to be supportive of Carly right now. This is a very important break for her."

"Yeah Swee, quit being such a stick in the mud and lighten up for once." Another familiar voice cut in. Carly recognized the voice immediately as the redheaded second youngest Fortune Fairy sister, Fortune Fairy En. "You know more people would like you more if you weren't so stuck up."

"And more people would like you more if you were more mature." Swee retorted, causing En to stick her tongue out at her.

"Will you all keep it down?" another familiar voice complained. Carly knew the voice as that of the last and third youngest Fortune Fairy sister, the green-haired Fortune Fairy Hu. "Some of us are trying to sleep in."

At that moment, the six sisters began to bicker amongst themselves. Carly sighed heavily at this. It seemed like it was going to be one of those mornings after all.

* * *

The Neo Domino stadium was once again packed with fans eager to see a good Turbo Duel. Jack sat in his white circular D-Wheel waiting for the signal to make his entrance.

"Welcome everyone to another exciting Turbo Duel here at Neo Domino Stadium!" the MC announced. "And now, please give a big hand to our city's king of dueling, Jack Atlas!"

Jack drove his D-Wheel out the entrance to the pits and zoomed up to the starting line. He stopped and pointed into the air. "There's only one king, and that's me! Jack Atlas!"

Most of the audience cheered loudly at Jack. Though he noticed that a small chunk of the audience seemed to be booing at him. But as far as Jack was concerned, those people were probably just a bunch of out of town idiots who couldn't tell a good duelist from a hole in the ground.

"Facing Jack today is the man they've started to call the Shining Knight." The MC announced. "Please give a warm Neo Domino welcome to Chet McClure!"

Pulling up next to Jack at the starting line on a shining gold-plated D-Wheel was a young man with blonde hair wearing a gold riding suit with a white scarf. His gold helmet was tucked under his arm and he gave a big wave to the audience.

"I hope you've enjoyed your reign as king, Atlas. Because after today that throne will belong to yours truly." Chet declared as he put his helmet back on.

"In your dreams." Jack scoffed.

"Duelists on your marks! Get set! Duel!" the MC declared.

Jack and Chet took off at full speed down the track. Jack quickly overtook the rider of the golden D-Wheel and rounded the first corner.

"Track Field, activate!" Jack announced. "Resonator Village!"

In seconds the inside of the stadium transformed into a village with small grey and black huts. Extending out of the roofs of these huts were copper pipes like the ones used with pipe organs. In the center of the village was a giant golden tuning fork.

"I summon Flare Resonator in Defense Mode!" Jack announced.

Materializing by Jack's D-Wheel was a small demon-like creature with a grey horned helmet the covered its whole head, only showing a pair of round red eyes and a fanged mouth. It had on grayish-purple robes and wore a red banner that showed an orange flame on its chest. Flames burned on the demon's back. In its right hand it held a large golden tuning fork, while in its left it had a metal stick with a large red ball at the top.

"That ends my turn." Jack announced.

"That's a pretty pathetic opening move for someone who claims to be king!" Chet declared as he drew his first card. "I summon Marauding Captain in Attack Mode!"

Appearing by Chet was an unshaven warrior with light-brown hair. He had on grey armor and a tattered red cape.

"With Marauding Captain's effect, I also summon the Tuner, Tune Warrior from my hand!" Chet announced.

Appearing next to Marauding Captain was another warrior in futuristic red in black armor with speakers in it. He had on black glasses over his eyes and his arms ended in large silver headphone jacks.

"I now tune the level three Tune Warrior into the level three Marauding Captain for a level six Synchro Summon!" Chet announced.

Tune Warrior flashed orange and changed into three rings of green light. The rings encircled the captain and changed him into three white balls of light.

"Spirits of earth gather together! Create the path of the gallant champion!" Chet chanted. "Synchro Summon! Charge forth, Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!"

The lights flashed into a large column of light. Charging out of it on a purple horse was a cybernetic knight in blue and yellow armor. His silver mechanical arms ended in a pair of red lances.

"Gaia, destroy Flare Resonator!" Chet commanded. "Spiral Joust!"

The knight charged and struck Flare Resonator with a spiraling wave of green energy from his right lance. The small demon was cut to ribbons from the attack and shattered into bits of light.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Chet announced. "Try and counter that, Atlas!"

Jack grinned as he drew his next card. He had now gotten a feel for the kind of duelist Chet was. How anyone could be a champion of anything with such a dime store deck, Jack would never know. But he didn't care either way. Jack decided that he would toy with Chet a bit before crushing him completely.

"I summon Mad Archfiend in Attack Mode!" Jack announced.

Materializing onto the track was a demon with wild red hair. The only thing that could be told about his face was that he had yellow eyes. He had animal skulls on over his shoulders, and in the large mouth on his torso he had a white human skull.

"I now activate the effect of Resonator Village! Since I have a Fiend-type monster on the field, I can summon Flare Resonator from the Graveyard!" Jack announced. The flaming demon reappeared on the battlefield. "I now tune the level three Flare Resonator into the level four Mad Archfiend for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

Flare Resonator clanged his tuning fork against his metal stick, causing the fork to vibrate. With the fork's vibration, Flare resonator became three rings of green light and encircled the mad demon. Mad Archfiend in turn became four balls of white light.

"Star of death, shining at heaven's zenith! Descend to Earth and judge the living!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! The king of divine punishment, Dark Highlander!"

The lights flashed into a large column of white light. When the light faded it revealed a large demonic-looking figure with a white mask-like face. He had on black and gold armor with a long black cape. In his hands he carried a very large scythe.

"Flare Resonator gives any monster it summons 300 extra ATK points." Jack revealed. "Which means Dark Highlander's 2800 ATK becomes 3100! Dark Highlander, attack Gaia Knight! Death Polar!"

"I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!" Chet quickly announced.

Dark Highlander charged forward with the blade of his scythe high in the air. But his attack was pushed back by a vortex that suddenly appeared in front of Chet's knight.

"What a shame." Jack remarked with a mocking grin. "Ah well. I guess I'll end my turn."

Chet drew his next card. "Your Dark Highlander is nothing compared to my ultimate monster! I summon Torapart in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the field was a pair of puppets dressed in black with pointed hats and blue gloves. At the base of each puppet was a cymbal.

"I now tune the level two Torapart into the level six Gaia Knight for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Chet announced.

The Torapart puppets chimed their cymbals together. But to Chet's utter surprise, nothing happened.

"What's going on?" a shocked Chet wondered.

"As long as Dark Highlander is on the field, neither of us and perform a Synchro Summon." Jack explained. "So much for your ultimate monster."

"I, uh… I end my turn." Chet reluctantly announced.

Jack knew it was time to move in for the kill as he drew his next card. "I'll start things off by equipping Gaia Knight with Demon's Shackle!"

A metal collar attached to the chain appeared on the knight's neck. Attached to the other end of the chain was a large black metal ball with a demonic face.

"I also equip Gaia Knight with Cursed Shield!" Jack announced.

Replacing Gaia's left lance was a demonic-looking shield with brown scales and large black spikes on the sides. In the center of the shield was a large yellow eye.

"I now activate Dark Highlander's effect!" Jack announced. "I destroy all cards equipped to Gaia and inflict 400 points of damage for each one! And when Cursed Shield is destroyed, it inflicts 800 points of damage! Making for a total of 1600 points!"

Dark Highlander struck the ground with his scythe. The two cursed armaments equipped to Gaia suddenly exploded and struck Chet with the shrapnel. His life points dropped to 2400.

"Dark Highlander, destroy Torapart!" Jack commanded. "Death Polar!"

The celestial reaper charged forward and cut the two puppets down the middle. The attack brought Chet's life points down to zero. With the duel at its end, the monsters on the field vanished and the stadium returned to normal.

"Once again, the winner and champion of the duel is Jack Atlas!" the MC announced.

Much of the audience cheered as a dejected Chet drove off. As Jack went back to the pits, he couldn't help but feel dissatisfied by the duel. Beating Chet was a good laugh he was hardly what Jack considered a worthy opponent. He began to wonder if he would ever face an opponent who could even come close to matching him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** To add some potential comic relief and make thing more interesting in the later chapters, I decided to show the Fortune Fairies as actual Duel Monster spirits instead of just cards. I tried to make their personalities reflect their attributes and the fortunes their cards give out. Not to mention their general appearance in the card illustrations. Some of the fairies were easier to depict than others. The age of each of the fairies is based on the level of their cards.

I ended up thinking long and hard about the duel in this first chapter. In the end I decided that bringing back that flaming skull guy (I forget the character's name) would only be rehashing the anime. So I just came up with a throw away character with a very basic deck.

Pleace review and let me know what you think.


	3. Declaration of War

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 2: Declaration of War

Shortly after the duel, a small press conference conducted by Rex Goodwin was held so that the reporters could ask Jack and his defeated opponent various questions. It was the usual assortment of questions. One reporter had asked Jack if he was ever once afraid of facing Chet, which had gotten a good laugh from Jack in response. Another reporter had asked Chet what it was like to lose to the great Jack Atlas. And as usual, Carly was stuck in the very back row with the Fortune Fairy sisters.

Normally, Carly would've been frustrated about once again winding up in the back of the crowd, where her questions were usually dismissed. But in this instance, Carly didn't really care about being stuck in the back. The questions she wanted to ask were too personal for a press conference. Carly needed a one-on-one interview with Jack. The only reason she was at the press conference was to find the right opportunity to try and get Jack alone with her.

The opportunity came when rex called an end to the conference. Carly saw her moment and tried to follow Jack, the Fortune Fairies flying close behind. But alas, it seemed that about eighty to ninety percent of the other reporters had gotten the same idea. Before she knew it, Carly was practically trampled by a stampede that lasted only seconds. As Carly slowly started to get back to her feet, she noticed a familiar shadow standing over her.

"Well, looks like you've hit rock bottom again, Carly." A very familiar voice mocked. "Being on the ground suits you quite well."

Carly recognized the voice in an instant. She looked up to see a young woman, taller than her, with long blonde hair wearing a red jacket. Sure enough, it was Carly's archrival, Angela Rains.

"What do you want, Angela?" Carly asked as she got up.

"I was just on my way out when I saw you on the ground like a piece of trash." Angela replied. "Just what was it that you were trying to do?"

"That's none of your business!" Carly told her.

"Wait, don't tell me." Angela snickered. "You weren't trying to get an interview with Jack Atlas, were you?"

"And what if I was?" Carly replied.

"Well you certainly weren't going to get an interview by chasing after him." Angela laughed. "A professional reporter would've tried getting an appointment, and they certainly wouldn't give one to a wannabe like you."

"Now wait just a minute!" Carly protested.

"Oh don't feel too bad. Even I probably wouldn't be able to get an interview with Jack." Angela assured her. "And I'm Neo Domino's number one newscaster. Well, I better get going. I'm sure your editor is waiting for you at the office to bring him a fresh cup of coffee. Ta-ta."

As Angela walked off, Fortune Fairy Hu stuck her tongue out at her. Carly felt quite tempted to do the same. It infuriated Carly that Angela was considered the city's number one reporter. She was a competent enough reporter, but true reason Angela was number one was because her looks attracted most of the male viewers in the city. There was also a rumor going around that Angela had an "understanding" with her station manager. But Carly usually dismissed such rumors as gossip.

"Why does Angela always have to be such a meanie?" Hikari wondered.

"She almost makes Ann look like the nicest girl on earth." Hu remarked.

"Watch it, twerp!" Ann warned.

"Calm down, Ann." Chee told her. "I'm sure Hu didn't mean anything."

"As atrocious as Angela is, she does have a point." Swee told Carly. "You aren't going to get any interviews by simply chasing after Jack like a common fangirl."

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that." Carly admitted. "But I can't interview Jack by going through the normal channels either."

"Don't give up so easily Carly. I'm sure you can figure out a solution." Chee said encouragingly.

"You're right! If I'm going to get this interview, I'm going to have to think more strategically." Carly decided. "C'mon you six! We've got planning to do!"

"Since when did _we_ have to come up with ways for Carly to get a scoop?" Hu asked as they went off.

* * *

Of all the buildings of Satellite that were ruined or destroyed by the Zero Reverse incident that tore the island away from its original landmass, one of the most intact was an old apartment complex originally known as Sherwood Tower. In its heyday, the tower served as residence for the old Domino City's middle class citizens. Since that time though, the tower became known as the Bird's Nest, the secret headquarters of the Blackbird Gang. Rather than being a normal street gang, the Blackbird Gang was a benevolent organization that did what it could to help the people of Satellite. The gang's membership had grown to over sixty people, many of them skilled duelists.

The Blackbird Gang was started not long after Crow Hogan had accidentally married a young woman named Raven by winning a ceremonial duel in Raven's home village. Upon the couple's return to Satellite they had quickly gained an entourage due to their efforts to help Satellite's citizens. Most recently, the gang had taken in three of Crow's childhood friends, Yusei Fudo, Aki Izayoi, and Kiryu Kyosuki. Together, they had defeated the Infinity Triad, whose true identity was an android from an apocalyptic future known as Aporia. Since Aporia's defeat, peace had returned to the area. But there were still threats on the horizon.

That afternoon, Aki went down to the garage of the Nest to find Yusei. As usual, Yusei was found in what had come to be known as the lab. He was hard at work tuning up his D-Wheel.

"Yusei, I just talked to Saiga." Aki informed him. "He's still having no luck finding a way for us to get to Neo Domino."

"Fine." Yusei replied very absently, not once looking up from his work.

"Uh, he says he can try a few more of his old contacts. But right now it doesn't look good." Aki continued.

"Sure." Yusei responded, still focused on his cycle.

One of the things Aki had quickly learned about her boyfriend was his tendency to tune out the rest of the world while working on machines. It was even worse when Bruno was in the room. Aki decided to find out just how engrossed Yusei was in his current task.

"Kiryu and I are having an affair." Aki announced very sarcastically. "In a few months I'll be giving birth to his love child."

"That's nice." Yusei replied indifferently, still a hundred percent focused of his work.

Aki sighed and shook her head. Yusei had clearly not noticed that she was even there. Finding a large wrench on the nearby table, Aki banged it hard against a hubcap that was hanging from the wall. The clanging noise started Yusei from his work and caused him to finally look up.

"Oh, Aki." Yusei finally noticed. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long." Aki replied as she put down the wrench and crossed her arms.

"We weren't supposed to be going out today or anything, were we?" Yusei asked with a look of panic.

"Sometimes I think you care about these machines than me." Aki teased with a pouting expression. "I could probably walk in here naked and you wouldn't even notice."

"Uh, that's not true!" a panicked Yusei assured her as he frantically waved his hands.

"Relax, silly. I'm just messing with you." Aki assured him as she walked up and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh. Okay." A very relieved Yusei sighed. "So why did you come down here then?"

"I just came to tell you that Saiga is still having no luck finding a way for us to get to the city." Aki reported.

"There has to be a way." Yusei insisted. "If we're going to have any chance of stopping Z-one and the Skeleton Knight, we'll need Jack's help."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll figure something out." Aki assured him. "After all, you still have a score to settle with Jack too."

"Yeah. I know." Yusei replied as he recalled the duel he and Jack had down in the Pit.

* * *

Crow rode towards the Bird's Nest on the way back from a patrol. All seemed quiet in the area. But as the tower came into sight, a thick cold fog suddenly rolled in. The fog cleared up a bit, a before Crow was a very familiar skeletal knight riding an undead horse wrapped in bandages.

"Hello Crow." The Skeleton Knight greeted.

"What do you want, bonehead?" Crow demanded to know.

"I don't suppose Yusei's around here somewhere." The undead knight assumed.

"If you wanna duel someone, duel me!" Crow dared.

"Very well." Skeleton Knight agreed. "But I warn you, the consequences of losing this duel will be quite high."

* * *

As Yusei and Aki exited the lab together, Raven ran up to them with Leo and Luna. Raven's pale-blue eyes were wide with fear.

"What's wrong Raven?" Aki asked.

"I think Crow might be in trouble." Raven told them. "Just a minute ago I sensed a really strong dark power come into the area. It was in the same direction Crow was supposed to be returning back from."

"Do you think it's the Skeleton Knight?" Yusei asked.

"I don't see what else it could be." Raven replied.

At that moment Bruno came walking towards them with Kiryu and Sect. "What's going on?"

"Looks like the Skeleton Knight's finally making a move." Yusei explained. "Crow might need our help."

"Then we better go find him." Kiryu decided.

In a few short minutes the group had gotten onto their D-Wheels and were out the door. They followed Raven in the direction where she sensed the Skeleton Knight.

* * *

Crow and the knight raced towards an old dead tree that was to be the starting point of the duel. At almost the last second, the Skeleton Knight's steed pulled ahead with surprising speed and turned left at the tree.

"It looks like the first turn is mine." The Skeleton Knight observed as he drew his first card. "Track Field, activate! Domain of the Earthbound!"

In an instant, the cold fog dispelled and the landscape changed in all directions. The sky overhead had become thick with dark-purple clouds and the dark-grey landscape had large lines carved into it. From their immense size, it was impossible for Crow to tell if the lines formed any sort of shape.

"I summon Skull Spider-Shield Weaver in Defense Mode!" the Skeleton Knight announced.

Materializing on the battlefield was a large spider with a black body and eight long thin tan legs. It had four pairs of green eyes on its head, and on the back of its abdomen was a large white skull-shaped mark that curved inward at the top like a shield.

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." The knight announced.

Just as Crow drew his first card, Yusei and the others quickly approached from behind. The group pulled up to move alongside Crow.

"You okay?" Yusei asked him.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll have this thing wrapped up this turn." Crow assured them.

"Honey, I have a real bad feeling about this duel." Raven told him.

"Well it's not like I can back out now." Crow pointed out. "Besides, I have everything under control."

"…Just be careful, okay?" Raven sighed.

"Relax. I've got this." Crow smirked as he turned his attention back to the duel. "I summon Blackwing-Sirocco the Dawn in Attack Mode!"

Materializing onto the field was a creature looked like a man dressed like a bird. He had large black-feathered wings and tail feathers on his back, and his hands and feet were talons. On his head he wore a black bird head mask with a large yellow beak that was open to reveal part of his face.

"Since I have another Blackwing monster on the field, I now Special Summon Blackwing, Bora the Spear!" Crow announced.

Appearing next to Sirocco was another bird-like humanoid with massive blue-black wings and tail feathers. The feathers on his head were orange and he had a long beak. The warrior carried a large black lance in his right hand.

"And now, because I have at least one other Blackwing monster on the field, I Special Summon Blackwing-Gale the Whirlwind!"

Materializing alongside the other two bird monsters was a small semi-humanoid bird-like creature. Its body was covered in black feathers and it had green feathers on the top and back of its head. Its yellow face lacked any sort of beak.

"Wow! Three monsters in one turn!" an impressed Leo observed. "That's totally awesome!"

"You haven't seen anything yet." Sect told him. "The boss is getting ready to use one of his strongest combos."

"First I activate Gale the Whirlwind's effect and cut the ATK and DEF of your Shield Weaver in half!" Crow announced. "Which means that spider of yours will only have 1000 DEF!"

Gale the Whirlwind flapped its wings and sent a small twister at Shield Weaver. The large spider was momentarily knocked onto its side by the whirlwind.

"Next I activate Sirocco's effect and add Sirocco and Gale's ATK to Bora's until the end of the turn!" Crow announced. "Making Bora's ATK 5000!"

Sirocco raised his arms and both he and Gale glowed with purple auras. Energy flowed from the two bird monsters into Bora, causing his lance to glow with a golden light.

"And now, since I have three Blackwings on the field, I activate a Trap from my hand, Delta Crow-Anti Reverse!" Crow announced. "This card destroys all my opponent's face down Spell and Trap cards!"

The three bird monsters flapped their wings and sent a massive wind at the Skeleton Knight. The windblast caused the knight's two face down cards to explode in flashes of flame.

"Since I used Sirocco's effect on Bora, Bora's the only monster that can attack this turn." Crow revealed. "But when Bora destroys a monster in Defense Mode, it deals the difference as battle damage!"

"Right now Bora has 5000 ATK, and the Skeleton Knight's monster only has 1000 DEF. So that means…" Luna quickly realized.

"Yep! The boss has this duel in the bag!" Sect finished.

"Bora, attack Shield Weaver!" Crow commanded. "Pitch-Black Spear!"

"I activate Shield Weaver's effect!" the Skeleton Knight announced. "Once per turn, it can negate the attack of a monster that selected it as its target!"

Just as Bora flew in the deliver the killing blow with his lance, the spider spread its two front pairs of legs and created a spider wed made out of green energy. The tip of the lance struck the web and caused it to shatter. But Shield Weaver remained unharmed.

"No way!" a shocked Crow exclaimed.

"That was a powerful combo." Skeleton Knight praised. "But as you can see, even the strongest combos can be brought down by a single card."

"Damn it!" Crow cursed. "I end my turn."

The Skeleton Knight drew his next card. "Because of my Field Spell, the monster I'm about to summon can be brought forth with one less tribute. So I now sacrifice Shield Weaver to summon my ultimate monster! Arise! Earthbound Immortal Uru!"

Shield Weaver shattered and a column of red light suddenly shot up into the air. Walls of purple flames suddenly erupted from the ground on both sides of the duel. At the same time, Kiryu cried out as a glowing purple mark appeared on his right arm.

"Kiryu, are you okay?" a concerned Yusei asked.

"I've seen this once before." Aki recalled.

"Look!" Luna called out pointing at the Skeleton Knight. "The Skeleton Knight has one too!"

Sure enough, a glowing purple mark in the shape of a spider was on the undead knight's right forearm. Meanwhile, the column of red light exploded in a blinding flash. After a moment the light faded to reveal a massive black spider with four red eyes and red markings on parts of its body. Raven went completely pale as she looked on at the creature.

"What the hell kind of monster is that?" a frightened Sect wondered.

Bruno consulted the screen of his D-Wheel consol. "Oh no! According to the data, Skeleton Knight's monster can attack directly. And it has 3000 ATK!"

"Not for long." The Skeleton Knight chuckled. "I discard Skull Spider-War Venom and use its effect to increase Uru's ATK by 1000 until the end of the turn!"

A fairly large black and grey spider with a red skull-shaped mark on its abdomen suddenly appeared on Uru's back. The smaller spider bit down and injected the larger spider with its venom. The markings on Uru's body suddenly glowed bright and blazed like fire.

"Uru, attack Crow directly!" Skeleton Knight commanded. "Hell Thread!"

The giant spider fired a sharp stream of silk down at Crow. Crow cried out as he was struck and the attack knocked his D-Wheel into the air as his life points went from 4000 to zero in an instant. The cycle landed on its side and Crow thrown only a couple feet away from it. A horrified Raven quickly rode over to Crow and dismounted. The rest of the group followed. As Raven tended to Crow's injuries, Uru vanished from the field.

After a moment, Crow regained consciousness. "What the hell… was that?"

"Don't try and move right now." Raven ordered.

"You lost the duel." Skeleton Knight interrupted. "Which means its now time for you to pay the price."

A thick wave of fog suddenly moved in from behind the undead knight. The dragon marks of the Signers and the dragon seal on Raven's back suddenly lit up and created a barrier of red light around the entire group. After a moment the fog rolled away and the landscape returned to normal. But the Skeleton Knight was still present.

"What did you just do?" Yusei demanded to know.

"I've just taken my prize." The knight answered as he held up a crystal ball filled with a purple mist. "All of your friends in the Blackbird Gang now reside in this sphere!"

Yusei and the others looked closely at the crystal ball. Swirling around inside the mist were moaning entities with human-looking faces. Many of them bore a striking resemblance to the other members of the gang.

"Let them go!" Yusei ordered.

"Not going to happen." The knight replied as the crystal ball suddenly vanished from his hand. "There's only one way to release your friends from your current hell. And that is to defeat me."

"Then bring it on!" Yusei dared.

"Oh no. Not here, Yusei." Skeleton Knight told him with a wave of his finger. "The stage for our battle shall be in Neo Domino."

"And just how are we supposed to get there?" Kiryu asked.

"Go to the old Daedalus Bridge tonight at midnight." The knight answered as he began to fade away with a black mist. "A ship will be there to take you to the city. I'll be waiting for you." With that, Skeleton Knight vanished along with his steed.

Using her powers, Raven healed Crow's injuries. Which turned out to be fairly minor considering he was thrown from his D-Wheel. As for the Blackbird, Bruno inspected the cycle and found that the damage was minor and could be repaired back at the Nest. When the group got back to the Nest, they found the entire building to be quite. D-Wheels had been left outside as if their riders had simply forgotten about them. Yusei and the others searched every room in the building and found the Nest completely empty. With the Nest vacant, Yusei and the others went down to the lab to decide on their next course of action.

"This is all just so insane." Crow declared. "How could he have just taken everyone like that?"

"It doesn't matter how he did it. What matters is they've been captured." Yusei pointed out.

"What kind of monster was that big spider?" Sect wondered.

"Something I'd hope we'd never have to face." Raven spoke.

"Do you know about that monster?" Yusei asked her.

"Only from stories in my old village." Raven answered. "They're called the Earthbound Immortals. In the very distant past they were benevolent protectors of the land. But according to legend, they were corrupted by the darkness of human hearts and became demons. The Crimson Dragon was left with no choice but to seal the beneath the earth, creating the landmark known as the Nazca Lines."

"So how was the Skeleton Knight able to summon one of these Immortals?" Bruno asked.

"It's said that there are some humans out there who can call upon the Immortals." Raven continued. "And that those people are marked like the Signers."

"I've seen one of those Immortals before." Aki revealed. "Misty somehow called upon one of them down in the Pit."

"Misty, that was one of the two girls in your elimination squad, right?" Yusei recalled.

"Yeah. After Lucciano told Misty that Divine was the one who killed her brother, she got angry and summoned this lizard monster that… ate Divine." Aki told them.

"Wow, cool." Leo declared. Luna slapped him on the arm. "I mean, how awful."

"At the time I thought that monster was just the form Misty's powers took. But there was a glowing mark on her arm in the shape of a lizard." Aki continued. "It was the same kind of mark that was on the Skeleton Knight's arm when he summoned Uru."

"And the same kind of mark that showed up on my arm too." Kiryu cut in. "Which means I can summon one of those things too, right?"

"Kiryu, we don't know that for sure." Yusei told him.

"But if it is, than it means I'm a threat. Right?" Kiryu asked.

"…Not necessarily." Raven answered after a moment. "According to the legends I've heard, most of these 'Dark Signers' are consumed by the power of the Immortal they can summon and are driven mad. But there were said to be some who control the power of the Immortals too."

"But it means I could be a major threat to everyone." Kiryu pointed out. "I shouldn't be around you guys."

"No Kiryu. We need you now more than ever right now." Yusei told him. "Besides, if anyone can control the power of one of these Immortals, you can."

"Look, all this stuff about the Earthbound Immortals can wait!" Crow cut in. "Right now we have to figure out how we're going to save the gang."

"Right now we've got no choice but to play the Skeleton Knight's game." Yusei pointed out. "We'll have to go to the Daedalus Bridge and wait for this transportation he said would be coming."

"We have been trying to get to the city anyway." Bruno reminded them all. "This might be our only way at this point."

"Yeah. And once we're there, we can talk some sense into Jack and try to get him to help." Yusei decided.

* * *

Rex stood looking out the window of his office as the sun began to set. The Skeleton Knight appeared on the other side of his desk from a dark mist.

"Well brother, have you extended our invitation to Yusei and his friends?" Rex asked as he turned around.

"I have. Though it ended up being more of a declaration of war on my part." The knight replied. "I had to give them a little bit of incentive. In any case, I told them that a boat would be picking them up midnight tonight at the Daedalus Bridge."

"Ah, that old bridge. How foolish I was in my youth." Rex recalled.

"You did what you had to do, Rex." Skeleton Knight reminded him. "Just as I did what needed to be done all those years ago."

"I suppose." Rex admitted. "Anyway, now it seems we can begin the next phase of our plan."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I realized a little while after finishing _Stardust and Roses_ that I never really showed just how big the Blackbird Gang was. So I tried to show that a little here in this chapter. I've actually tossed around the idea of doing a prequel that showed just how the gang formed. Still a few details I've got to work out though. So at the moment I'm not really sure if I'll do it.

One issue that came up even back during _Stardust and Roses_ was how to include the Earthbound Immortals. In the end, there didn't really seem like any good way to do the AU without them. So I decided to reinvent them a little bit and depict them as protector deities that went bad. The "good" forms of some of the Immortals will show up later in the story. But this way those who are "Dark Signers" won't necessarily be evil.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Rival From the Past

**Author's Note:** I came pretty close to not getting this chapter up today. Let's just say I haven't been having the greatest day. Or the greatest week, for that matter. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed last time. I'm glad everyone's liking the story so far.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 3: Rival From the Past

Despite being an island full of crumbling buildings and recycling plants, Satellite was known for its famed landmarks. One such landmark that was considered a legend by the people of the island was a narrow bridge on the shore that extended a few feet out over the water, the Daedalus Bridge. After the Zero Reverse, the people of Satellite were for whatever reason shunned by the city, and by extension the rest of the world who either didn't know about Satellite's plight or simply didn't care. Satellite was practically cut off from the rest of the world. But according to the legend of the bridge, there was one man who was not content to simply accept this destiny and decided to change it.

In the beginning, this man would stand silently at the shore and stare across the water at the city. Then he took action and set to work building a bridge that would connect the island to the city. At first the man's efforts were ignored by the people of Satellite and considered futile. But over time, many others joined the man and helped in his task. It was not long though before the security force got wind of the bridge and immediately set about putting an end to its construction. Rather than be taken prisoner, the mysterious man took off over the unfinished bridge at full speed on a D-Wheel. At first it seemed to those watching the incident that the man would plummet to a watery grave, but the man had activated a set of wings that had been built into the motorcycle and took off to parts unknown. Thus both the Daedalus Bridge and the D-Wheel had become symbols of freedom to the people of Satellite.

It was at this unfinished bridge where Yusei and the others waited for the boat that the Skeleton Knight had told them would come and take them to the city. They had arrived at the bridge about ten minutes before midnight with only their D-Wheels and a few bags. It wasn't until five minutes after midnight when the group spied a fairly large boat resembling a trash barge approaching the shore. Slowly, the boat backed up and lowered a large ramp.

Standing at the top of the ramp was a scruffy bearded man in a yellow raincoat smoking a cigarette. "You the punks I'm supposed to pick up?"

"Yeah." Yusei confirmed. "Who sent you anyway?"

"Look kid, all I know is some guy is paying me big bucks to haul you pieces of trash to the city." The boatman told him as he threw away his cigarette. "So just shut up and get on board!"

Without any further discussion, Yusei and the others moved their D-Wheels onto the boat. Once they were all aboard, the boat was off towards the city at a slow pace. There was hardly any conversation during the slow boat ride. The twins had fallen asleep in a corner of the boat with an old blanket draped over them. Meanwhile Bruno was at work performing checks on all the D-Wheels. Kiryu on the other hand simply sat in silence against the wall of the boat with Sect, while Yusei and Aki were at the head of the boat looking out towards Neo Domino. This left Crow and Raven trying to get some sleep, but both were having very little luck in that department.

"You okay?" Crow asked.

"…I almost lost you today." She reminded him. "You could've been seriously hurt, or worse."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry for making you worry like that." Crow replied. "But hey, it wasn't like I really had a choice. That bonehead just showed up."

"Still, the way you tried to rush that duel…" Raven pointed out.

"You're right. That was stupid." Crow agreed. "I should've known he'd have something up his sleeve. If I'm gonna end up facing that guy again, I'll need to get stronger. Hey, maybe you could teach me that Primal Synchro thing you used to beat Jose."

"Well, I guess I could try. But it's not as easy as it looks." Raven warned. "How 'bout we talk about it more in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Crow agreed. "We'll probably need our rest for tomorrow."

* * *

Jack entered the dining room of the Goodwin mansion being beckoned by the scent of his usual morning cup of coffee. He needed that cup after the night he had. Jack had another dream where he was the dancing monkey. Only it was a bit different than the one from the night before. This time he was in a cage at the zoo and people who's faces he couldn't make out were throwing peanuts at him. And at the back of the crowd Jack could see his dark counterpart laughing at him. Jack didn't know why he was having those strange dreams, but he dismissed them as dreams and nothing more.

As he took his first sip of coffee, Mikage walked in and sat down at her usual seat at the table. "Good morning, Mr. Atlas."

"So what little events do I have planed for today?" Jack asked.

"Actually I just heard from Director Goodwin." Mikage revealed. "Your schedule for today has been cleared. A special match has just been arranged for you."

"So who am I up against this time? Another hic tournament winner?" Jack asked.

"Well, it could be anyone actually." Mikage revealed. "This event is being called the Fortune Challenge. Basically anyone who has a deck can challenge you to a duel."

"Let me get this straight," an outraged Jack began as he slammed his cup onto its saucer and stood up, "you're saying that any idiot off the street can challenge me for my title? What sort of joke is Goodwin trying to pull?"

"Look, I'm as surprised by all this as you are." Mikage admitted as she stood up to face Jack. "But apparently the reason for this event is because it seems you've lost touch with the public. So what could it hurt to play along?"

"…Fine." Jack grudgingly agreed as he sat back down. "But the whole thing's a waste of time."

* * *

Upon docking at Neo Domino Harbor, the barge operator directed Yusei and the others to a nearby warehouse where they could lay low for a little while. The old warehouse was largely vacant, save for a few boxes and crates. But at the very least it provided temporary shelter while the group figured out its next move.

"Well, we're finally in Neo Domino. But now what?" Crow asked. "We hardly even know where to start looking for the Skeleton Knight."

"I think we should find Jack first." Yusei suggested.

"Yeah, like he'd be a big help." Crow sarcastically scoffed. "Besides Yusei, now isn't exactly the best time for settling old scores. In case you've forgotten, all our friends have been captured."

"Which is even more a reason why we need Jack's help." Yusei argued. "He is supposed to be a Signer like most of us are. And if settling an old score is the only way to get Jack to help us, then that's what I'll do."

"Yusei does have a point. Jack would probably be more helpful after beating some sense into him." Kiryu agreed.

"Yeah, well I still say we're a lot better off without him." Crow argued.

Before the debate could go any further, Leo ran into the warehouse with a poster of some kind in his hand after taking a short stroll outside. "Hey Yusei! Check this out."

Yusei took the poster from Leo and read it. "It's for something called the Fortune Cup Challenge. According to this poster, anyone who has at least a deck can challenge Jack to a duel. It also says the event is being held today at Neo Domino Stadium at noon."

"That's forty-five minutes from now." Aki realized.

"You're not thinking of going there, are you?" Crow asked.

"What do you think?" Yusei replied calmly as he headed over to his D-Wheel.

"Oh come on! Asking Jack for help is one thing, but doing it in broad daylight?" Crow protested. "In case you've forgotten, we're not exactly welcome citizens here in the city."

"This might be the best chance we have to confront Jack." Yusei pointed out before revving up the engine. "I'm going to the stadium. The rest of you can stay here if you want. I'll be back later."

"Wait Yusei. I'm going too." Aki told him.

"Me too." Bruno added. "Right now, you're the best hope of saving the city from Z-one. So I can't afford to let anything bad happen to you."

"Luna and I are coming too." Leo decided.

"I'm in too." Sect agreed. "It's better than just sitting on my butt here."

"I'll go too." Kiryu agreed.

As the others were starting up their D-Wheels, Raven looked at Crow with her hands on her hips. "Well honey?"

"…Oh fine! I guess Raven and I will come too." Crow relented. "I guess it would be nice to see Jack get his ass handed to him."

* * *

Many people had turned out to see the sudden Fortune Challenge event that almost seemed to have been thrown together at the last minute. Carly had managed to get a seat in the front row. After spending most of the night before coming up with ideas with the Fortune Fairies, Carly had finally come up with a plan to get an interview with Jack. After the event, Carly would quickly sneak into Jack's dressing room and ambush him. The smarter move probably would've been to sneak into the dressing room before or during the event. But Carly couldn't resist another chance to see Jack live and in action. Plus the whole event was too interesting to pass up. Jack was going to be up against an opponent that even he didn't know anything about, even if that opponent was just some random guy off the street.

A small stage had been set up in the middle of the stadium floor. Jack was sitting in a folding chair with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Mikage sat in another chair next to him. After a few minutes, Rex came onto a stage and stepped up to a podium that had been set up.

"Welcome one and all, to a very exciting new event that has been arranged for your pleasure." Rex greeted into the microphone. "For today only, our champion will take on anyone who wishes to challenge him, not matter the challenger's age or level of skill. So anyone that wishes to challenge our king, please step forward now."

For the first few moments, it seemed like nobody was going to step up. Then almost as if on cue, a red D-Wheel suddenly burst in through the stadium floor and pulled up before the small stage. Even Jack was surprised by the arrival of this mysterious rider.

Yusei took off his helmet and glared at Jack. "Jack, I've come to challenge you right here and now!"

Many of the people in the audience were stunned. Especially when the holographic sphere that served as the stadium's jumbo screen showed a close-up of Yusei's face. The yellow criminal mark on his cheek was as clear as day to everyone. Much of the audience was quickly becoming outraged that someone who was a criminal, and most likely an escapee from Satellite had come into the stadium. But Rex quickly raised his hand and the crowd fell silent.

"People of Neo Domino! While it is clear that this young man has a colored past, that does not matter here in this stadium." Rex told them. "If he has truly come to challenge Jack, than he will not be turned away."

"Well, I never in a million years imagined that I'd see you here, Yusei." Jack grinned as he got up.

Almost on cue, Aki and the others arrived in the stadium and pulled up near Yusei. The riders removed their helmets to glare up at Jack.

"This certainly is turning into quite the reunion." Jack chuckled. "I see that buffoon Crow is here too. And even Kiryu. You even somehow managed to bring that Izayoi girl that you've pinned over for years."

"Nice to see you too, Jack." Crow greeted sarcastically.

"I don't recognize the rest of your little entourage, but it doesn't really matter." Jack went on. "So Yusei, I take it you've come all the way here to pay me back for our last duel."

"That's not my only reason. But we do have a score to settle." Yusei told him. "So why don't we do that right now?"

"Fine with me." Jack gladly agreed. "I have to admit, Yusei. You'd be a nice change from a lot of the other opponents I've faced these last few years. You should provide me with the most amusement I've had in a long time."

"Don't think I'll be so easy to beat." Yusei told him. "This duel won't go anything like our last one."

"You certainly haven't lost your confidence." Jack chuckled. "But I can tell you this, Yusei. This duel will be your funeral!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry that this chapter ended up being a little short. It's partly because I decided to cut a scene. I was originally planing to show another of Jack's nightmares. But I was having a hard time getting it started, and in the end I sort of felt like I'd just be repeating the nightmare from the first chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. The Unthinkable Truth

**Author's Note:** I'm kind of dealing with some personal issues in my life right now. I don't anticipate them causing any delays in this story. But if I end up not updating for awhile, that's probably why. Just thought I should give everyone a heads-up.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 4: The Unthinkable Truth

It only took a few minutes for Jack to get his D-Wheel after Yusei and the others showed up. During that time the entire stadium had fallen silent. The audience couldn't help but wonder how it was that Jack seemed to know this mysterious young man who had been marked as a criminal. Carly especially wondered just how Jack and Yusei were connected. It seemed so unlikely given what she had read about Jack's past. Though a part of her did wonder just how true that information really was. Meanwhile, Aki and the others watched from their D-Wheels as Yusei and Jack went up to the starting line.

"Both duelists, on your marks! Get set! Duel!" the MC announced.

Yusei and Jack took off down the track at full speed. Both of them were neck and neck up until the first curve. At that point, Jack pulled ahead of Yusei by a mere inch.

"The first turn is mine!" Jack declared. "Track Field, activate! Resonator Village!"

All at once, parts of the stadium changed into Jack's small village of fiends. The giant gold tuning fork emerged from the ground in the center of the stadium just behind Aki and the others.

"For my first move I summon Archfiend Interceptor in Defense Mode!" Jack announced.

Appearing on the track alongside Jack was a purple-skinned humanoid with six thin arms. He had on a football uniform consisting of a red shirt with a white helmet.

"Because I now control a Fiend-type monster, Resonator Village lets me also summon Dark Resonator from my hand!" Jack announced.

Materializing onto the field next to Archfiend Interceptor was another small demon that looked very much like Flare Resonator. On its robes were a bit different and it had a collection of cymbals on its back instead of a flame.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Jack announced.

Yusei drew his first card. "Because you have monsters on the field while I don't, I Special Summon Junk Forward!" A slender warrior in red futuristic armor materialized on the field. "Next I summon Screwturn, the Apprentice Warrior!"

A small robot with a large screw-shaped head appeared next to Junk Forward. In its right hand it wielded a long screw for a sword.

"I tune the level two Screwturn into the level three Junk Forward for a level five Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Screwturn flashed orange and transformed into two rings of green light. The rings encircled Junk Forward and changed him into three balls of white light.

"Clustering stars come together to signal the coming of an unstoppable fighter! Create the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up! Scarred Warrior!"

The lights flashed into a column of white light. The light quickly faded to reveal a heavily bandaged warrior with a cybernetic right arm.

"Scarred Warrior, attack Dark Resonator!" Yusei commanded. "Brave Dagger!"

"I activate my Trap, Urgent Tuning!" Jack announced. "With this card, I tune the level three Dark Resonator into the level four Archfiend Interceptor for a level seven Synchro Summon!"

Just as Scarred Warrior was about to strike Dark Resonator with the blade on his mechanical arm, the small fiend struck its tuning fork and metal stick together, creating sound waves. Dark Resonator changed into three rings of green light and encircled Archfiend Interceptor. The six-armed fiend became four balls of white light inside the rings.

"Star of death, shining at heaven's zenith! Descend to Earth and judge the living!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! The king of divine punishment, Dark Highlander!"

The lights flashed into a column of light that stopped Scarred Warrior in his tracks. The light cleared to reveal Jack's celestial reaper.

"Come to think of it Yusei, this is exactly how our last duel began." Jack recalled. "Which I suppose means that this duel will end the same way, with you losing."

"…I set one card on the field and end my turn." Yusei announced.

"No way! Is this really how Yusei and Jack's duel down in the Pit went down?" a surprised Sect wondered.

"Yusei told me about that duel a couple of times. And this duel is starting out exactly the same way." Aki confirmed.

"But in that last duel, didn't Yusei's face down fail to activate?" Crow pointed out.

"Yeah." Aki grimly confirmed. "I just hope that doesn't happen this time too."

Jack drew his next card with an arrogant grin. "I equip Scarred Warrior with Cursed Shield!" Jack announced. The demonic shield appeared in the bandaged warrior's left hand. "Now I activate Dark Highlander's effect, destroying Cursed Shield and inflicting 400 points of damage! And when Cursed Shield is destroyed, it inflicts 800 points of damage!"

Dark Highlander swung his scythe and destroyed the demonic shield. The shrapnel struck Yusei and reduced his life points to 2800.

"Dark Highlander, attack Scarred Warrior!" Jack commanded. "Death Polar!"

"I activate my Trap, Synchro Deflector!" Yusei quickly announced. "Since a Synchro monster I have is being attacked, I can destroy the attacking monster!"

Just as Dark Highlander was about to swing down his massive scythe, Scarred Warrior flashed with a brilliant white light. A wave of light then burst forth from the bandaged fighter and shattered the reaper into bits of gold light.

A scowl appeared on Jack's face. "Well, it seems that you ended up getting a lucky break this time around. Too bad you didn't have that Trap on the field in our last duel."

"But that's just it Jack. I did have Synchro Deflector on the field in our last duel." Yusei revealed. "Only it wouldn't activate when I tried to play it!"

"What are you saying?" Jack asked with narrowed eyes.

"I ran check after check on my D-Wheel before and after that duel. Everything was working perfectly. Which means there's only one reason why the Trap didn't activate that time." Yusei continued. "…You somehow tampered with my D-Wheel during the duel!"

Fortune Fairy Hikari appeared next to a stunned Carly in the stands. "Carly, what's that guy dueling Jack saying?"

"He's saying that in their last duel…" Carly began with hesitation, "Jack cheated."

"What? But that can't be true, can it?" Hikari asked. "Jack's not that kind of guy, is he?"

"Of… of course not." Carly attempted to assure her. Though there was doubt in her voice.

"Are you actually accusing me of cheating?" an outraged Jack asked Yusei. "If that Trap card of yours didn't activate, it was because of that junk heap of a D-Wheel of yours!"

"Oh c'mon, you dumb ass!" Crow interrupted over the D-Wheel intercom. "Since when have you ever known Yusei to build something that'd break down easily like that?"

"Well I don't care what either of you think!" Jack denied. "As far as I'm concerned, that duel is in the past! Just like our little team and everything else between us! I'm living in the now! And right now I'm setting one card on the field and end my turn!"

Yusei drew his next card. "Scarred Warrior, attack Jack directly! Brave Dagger!"

"I activate my Trap, Shadow Spell!" Jack announced. "This card not only stops Scarred Warrior from attacking, it lowers his ATK by 700 points!"

Just as Scarred Warrior was about to strike Jack, several black chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around his torso. The bound warrior's ATK dropped down to 1400 points.

"I end my turn." Yusei announced.

Jack drew his next card. "I'm going to make you pay for calling me a cheater! I summon Mist Archfiend!"

A white mist gathered alongside Jack and quickly took the shape of a demon. Much of its body was orange-red and it had a black skull-like face. It had large black ribs on its torso and its arms ended in large black claws. On the demon's back was a pair of black bat-like wings.

"Since I have a Fiend monster on the field, I can now use the effect of Resonator Village and bring back Dark Resonator from the Graveyard!" Jack announced. The small demonic Tuner reappeared on the track. "I now tune the level three Dark Resonator into the level five Mist Archfiend for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Dark Resonator struck its tuning fork against its metal rod and transformed into three green rings of light. The rings encircled Mist Archfiend and changed it into five balls of white light.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a pillar of fire. The flames died down to reveal the black and red dragon Rex had given Jack years ago.

"A 3000 ATK point monster?" a shocked Leo observed. "How's Yusei going to beat that?"

"He's beaten worse." Kiryu pointed out.

"It's been a long time since I had to bring out Red Dragon Archfiend." Jack revealed to Yusei. "But then you are the only opponent I've had in a long time that's even come close to being a challenge."

"You mean you've never had any difficulty against any of the duelists who've challenged you?" Yusei asked.

"Well of course not. I'm Jack Atlas after all." Jack smirked.

"That's pretty disappointing. I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge." Yusei told him.

"What did you just say?" Jack asked with a look of rage. "First you accuse me of cheating, now you're calling me weak?"

"I'm saying that you've lost your edge." Yusei replied. "It doesn't seem like you've improved very much since the last time we dueled. You're still using the same tactics that you used two years ago."

"Yusei does have a point." Sect agreed on the sidelines. "I've watched a few of Jack's duels on T.V. and they all end pretty much the same way."

"I've been reviewing the duels Jack has had as champion." Bruno revealed as he looked at his D-Wheel consol.

"You mean you haven't been watching the duel at all?" a surprised Crow asked.

"Of course I've been watching. I'm just capable of multitasking." Bruno replied. "Anyway, it seems that all of Jack's opponents were either inexperienced or holding something back."

"So what, you're saying that Jack's been dueling wimps this whole time?" Crow asked.

"That would explain the lack of development in Jack's tactics." Bruno pointed out.

"I'm going to make you eat those words, Yusei!" Jack declared back in the duel. "Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Scarred Warrior! Absolute Power Force!"

A massive ball of flames formed in the dragon's right palm. Red Dragon Archfiend thrust the ball into Scarred Warrior's chest, producing a massive explosion that dropped Yusei's life points down to 1100. But when the smoke cleared, Scarred Warrior was still on the battlefield.

"You do remember that I can keep Scarred Warrior from being destroyed in battle once per turn, right?" Yusei reminded him.

"Not that it matters." Jack scoffed. "I end my turn."

Yusei drew his next card. "I discard Quillbolt Hedgehog to Special Summon Jackie Jumper from my hand!" A small robot with skies for feet appeared on the track. "Next I summon Mono Synchron!"

Another small green and yellow robot materialized onto the field. Its arms ended in stamps with a large red Number One on each of them.

"Because I have at least one Tuner on the field, I summon Quillbolt Hedgehog to the field!" Yusei announced.

Appearing on the field was a fairly small light-brown hamster-like creature. Its back was a mass of large grey bolts.

"I tune the level three Jackie Jumper into the level five Scarred Warrior for a level seven Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.

Jackie Jumper changed into three green rings of light and encircled Scarred Warrior. The black chains that bound the scarred fighter shattered to bits before he became five balls of white light.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a column of white light. The light faded to reveal a silvery-white dragon with magnificent wings and three long horns on the back of its head. With Stardust Dragon's appearance, the dragon marks on Yusei and Jack's arms suddenly began to glow. The marks of the other Signers as well as the dragon seal on Raven's back began to glow as well.

"What is this?" Jack demanded to know. "What's going on?"

"When Mono Synchron is used for a Synchro Summon, the other monster used is treated as level one." Yusei announced, ignoring Jack's question. "So I tune the level one Mono Synchron into the level one Quillbolt Hedgehog to summon a level two Synchro monster in Defense Mode!"

Mono Synchron fired a red beam from the stamp on its right arm at Quillbolt Hedgehog. The beam hit the rodent in the cheek, causing a large red Number One to appear. The robot then changed into a single green ring and encircled Quillbolt Hedgehog, causing it to become a single ball of light.

"Clustering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power of hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"

The lights flashed and became a single horizontal column of white light. Appearing out of the light was a blue and white racecar-like robot with large legs and a small blue head.

"Because I summoned Formula Synchron, I can draw one more card." Yusei announced. "I end my turn."

"I don't know what's going on with my birthmark and the mark on your arm, or what you're planning to do with those two monsters, but I don't care!" Jack declared as he drew his next card. "I'm ending this duel right now!"

"Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution!" Yusei began to chant as he started to speed up.

"I activate the Spell card, Riryoku!" Jack announced. "This card takes half of your Stardust Dragon's ATK and lets me add it to Red Dragon Archfiend's!"

"Become the path its light shines upon!" Yusei continued to chant. "Accel Synchro!"

A split second before the purple beam of light from Jack's card hit Stardust Dragon, Yusei sped up and disappeared with his two monsters in a streak of pinkish-red light. With its target gone, Jack's Spell card shattered. The startled members of the audience began to murmur amongst themselves to try and figure out what was going on.

"What just happened?" an equally shocked Jack asked.

In answer to Jack's question, another streak of light came up from behind. Yusei burst out of the light with a larger dragon that looked like a sleeker and more muscular version of Stardust Dragon.

"Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!" Yusei called out.

"What sort of monster is that?" Jack demanded to know.

"One that's 300 points stronger than Red Dragon Archfiend!" Yusei told him. "And it's one that took a lot of effort to learn how to summon! Now are you done?"

"Fine! I end my turn." Jack announced. "But don't think that just because you summoned that flashy monster of yours that you have this duel won."

Yusei drew his next card. "I activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect! By revealing the top five cards on top of my deck, Shooting Star Dragon can attack for each Tuner revealed!" He began drawing more cards from his deck. "First card, Scrapiron Scarecrow! Second card, Junk Blader! Third card, Debris Dragon! Fourth card, Quick-Span Knight! And the fifth card is Junk Changer! Which means since I revealed three Tuner monsters, Shooting Star Dragon can attack three times!"

Shooting Star Dragon split apart into three dragons. Each one was a different color.

"Shooting Star Dragon, end this duel!" Yusei commanded. "Stardust Mirage!"

The first Shooting Star Dragon clone flew at top speed into Red Dragon Archfiend, causing the other dragon to explode into a flash of light. The two remaining dragons collided into Jack, causing his D-Wheel to be thrown forward into the air and his remaining life points to drop to zero. As the inside of the stadium returned to normal, Jack was thrown from his vehicle as it flipped through the air like a coin before crashing into the ground. The audience was simply stunned.

"Uh… and the winner and new champion of Neo Domino is… Yusei Fudo!" the MC declared.

The audience cheered loudly as Yusei and the rest of his friends rushed over to Jack's side. Yusei kneeled down to see how badly Jack was hurt.

"Are you okay Jack?" a concerned Yusei asked.

"Well… it looks like you're the new champion Yusei." Jack spoke weakly. "Just don't screw it up and get cocky."

With that, Jack lost consciousness. A team of paramedics quickly came out and took Jack away on a stretcher. Before Yusei and the others could follow, a mob of people from the audience began to surround them.

"Uh, Yusei? Maybe we should get out of here." Raven suggested,

"Mr. Fudo, I presume." A voice interrupted. Yusei and the others looked down to see a short clown-like individual with lavender hair wearing a red jacket.

"Gah! What the hell are you?" a startled Crow asked.

"My name is Jaeger." The clown answered after clearing his throat. "Now Mr. Fudo, I think it'd be best if you and your friends all came with me. Director Goodwin would like to have a word with you."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope nobody minds that I made the duel between Yusei and Jack a single chapter. It just sort of worked out that way. Anyway, I ended up adding a little personal touch to Jack's deck and had him use Mist Archfiend. Mainly because it worked best with Jack's Field Spell. I was going to save Mist Archfiend for a possible sequel to the 5D's Alternative Trilogy that I may or may not do. Though I suppose I could always just use it again.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Prisoner In a King's Disguise

**Author's Note:** Writing this chapter went a little slow. Not because of the personal issues going on in my life, but because I have a sore neck. It's either stress or I just slept on it wrong. Either way, it probably wasn't a good idea to spend a good chunk of the day writing on a laptop. Anyway, the title of this chapter is a line from the song, _Pieces of Eight_, by Styx. Seemed pretty appropriate at the time.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 5: "Prisoner In a King's Disguise"

Jaeger quickly escorted Yusei and the others out of the stadium past the mob of people from the audience to a large black limo that had been parked outside. When Yusei asked what would be done with their D-Wheels, the small clown assured them that they would be well taken care of. The group was driven through the city to the main government building. Once there, Jaeger escorted the group up to Goodwin's office. Rex was already there, standing behind his desk.

"Ah, Yusei. Glad to see that you and your friends made it here safely." Rex greeted. "Forgive me for not introducing myself before. I am Rex Goodwin, Director of Neo Domino Security."

"Why are we here?" Yusei asked with a suspicious eye.

"I merely wished to congratulate you for your victory over Jack." Rex assured him. "This city has needed a new champion for a long time. Please, all of you, have a seat."

Yusei and Aki took a seat on the big couch in front of Rex's desck next to Leo and Luna. Bruno and Kiryu took the remaining two chairs by the couch while the rest of the group remained standing.

"Now then, there is another reason why I brought all of you here." Rex admitted as he sat at his desk. "And that is to thank all of you for your efforts in eliminating the Infinity Triad."

"You know about that?" a surprised Yusei asked.

"I made it my business to know everything about what went on with the triad, because I never once trusted them." Rex explained. "You've done this city a great service by getting rid of them."

"Just how much do you know about the triad?" Bruno asked.

"Perhaps I know as much as you." Rex replied. "But in any case, it doesn't matter. The triad is no more. Now Satellite is free of their reign."

"So what're you gonna do with us now?" Crow asked.

"Why nothing. All of your criminal records have been completely expunged." Rex revealed. "As far as the public is concerned, you are all simply law abiding citizens."

"Well there's no way you're sending us back to Satellite!" Sect declared. "Not until we take down the Skeleton Knight!"

"The Skeleton Knight? And just who is that?" Rex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's someone who kidnapped a bunch of our friends back in Satellite." Yusei explained.

"And you think he's now in this city?" Rex deduced.

"We know he is! The bonehead told us to come here when he took our friends!" Crow told him.

"Then I'll make looking into this matter my top priority." Rex assured them as he stood up from his desk. "In any case, none of you have to worry about being sent back to Satellite. You may all stay in the city as long as you like."

"Then I guess we better find a place for all of us to stay." Aki realized.

"That won't be necessary." Rex revealed. "You can all stay at the Fudo mansion. It does rightfully belong to Yusei, after all."

"Wait, what?" a surprised Yusei asked as he stood up.

"It originally belonged to your father." Rex explained. "He left it in my care in the event of his death."

"You knew my father?" Yusei asked him.

"My late older brother and I worked closely with him on the original Momentum project." Rex revealed. "Dr. Fudo was a good man. I can see a lot of him in you, Yusei. Anyway, I'll have Jaeger take you all to the mansion. In the meantime, I'll get to work tracking down this Skeleton Knight you spoke of."

With that, Jaeger reentered the room and escorted Yusei and the others out. At that moment, Yusei was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Yet he was sure of one thing. He didn't trust Rex for a second.

* * *

_Jack awoke to find that he was sitting on a golden throne inside a fairly small square room with golden walls. Scattered around the room were piles of gold coins and trophies. There was only a single small barred window on the right wall of the room. Jack then noticed that he was wearing a golden jumpsuit with a prisoner number on the left breast. He also had on a large gold crown and a golden scepter in his hand._

_"All hail the king!" a voice laughed. Jack looked to see his evil twin leaning against one of the piles with his arms crossed. "The king of fools, that is."_

_"What is all this?" Jack furiously demanded to know as he stood up from the throne._

_"You ignored my last two attempts at showing you the truth. But I think you'll be more receptive now that you been trounced by your old friend, Yusei." Dark Jack explained as he walked towards him. "Perhaps it'll now all finally sink in. You never freed yourself by playing Goodwin's game. You simply traded your cage down in the Pit for a gilded cage in the city. And all the opponents you've dueled as 'king' were all a bunch of pathetic weaklings. Don't you see? You've been nothing but Goodwin's puppet this whole time!"_

_"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Jack scoffed._

_"You've said it yourself many times. It's been awhile since you had an opponent that even remotely challenged you." Dark Jack pointed out. "That's because Goodwin's been setting you up against opponents that were either simply too weak and inexperienced or were paid to lose on purpose, all so that you could remain Neo Domino's champion. You believed your own hype and now you've paid for it."_

_"Even if I have been dueling weaklings, I still earned my title as king!" Jack insisted._

_"Are you sure about that?" Dark Jack chuckled. "Do you know how it was that Yusei was able to beat you? How it was he was able to summon that strange dragon of his? It was because he somehow found a way to get stronger while you just sat on your ass in your fake throne and became a big fish in a small pond. Face it Jack, you've been set up from the beginning."_

_Try as he might, Jack couldn't deny what his doppelganger was telling him. All his opponents were weak, using cheap decks and basic tactics. None of them seemed to pose any real challenge except for Yusei. And then there was what Yusei had said about their duel down in the Pit. About how his D-Wheel supposedly malfunctioned and prevented him from playing the Trap that might have won him the duel. Jack could only think of one reason why that might've happened. It was because Rex had wanted him to win._

_"Oh, but don't worry Jack. I can help you." Dark Jack continued. "I can give you the power that will allow you to become a true king."_

_'What're you talking about?" Jack scoffed. "You're nothing but some figment of my imagination."_

_"Are you sure about that?" Dark Jack asked. "If I am, then I'm a pretty persistent one. I can give you the power you seek. All you have to do is join with me."_

_"Get lost!" Jack ordered as he threw his scepter at him._

_"Okay." Dark Jack chuckled as he turned to leave. "I'll give you some time to think it over. But in the end, I have the feeling that you'll have no choice to but turn to me."_

* * *

Jack awoke to find that he was in a hospital bed. He turned his head to his left to see Mikage sitting in a chair at his bedside.

"Oh! You're finally awake, Mr. Atlas." Mikage happily observed.

"Where am I?" Jack asked weakly.

"You're in the city hospital. You had a little accident when that young man you dueled beat you." Mikage explained. "Fortunately your injuries aren't that severe. The doctors say that you should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon."

"Go home to where? I'm no longer champion you know." Jack pointed out.

"Director Goodwin assured me that you're still welcome to stay at the mansion." Mikage assured him. "And I'm sure we can arrange a rematch once you're back to perfect health."

Normally the chance for a rematch would've appealed to Jack, but at that time he was in no mood. "Where is Yusei, anyway?"

"Oh. Well the director said that he placed him in an old mansion once owned by the inventor of the Momentum Reactor." Mikage revealed.

"His dad's old place, eh?" Jack chuckled. "Goodwin does have an odd sense of humor."

"Sir?" Mikage asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Never mind. Just go." Jack ordered. "I'd like to be alone right now."

"Of course." Mikage agreed before getting up and walking out of the room.

* * *

Night had finally descended upon Neo Domino. Which meant it was time for Carly to act. She had been forced to change her plans a bit after Jack's accident at the end of the duel. During the commotion when the mob of stadium goers went after Yusei and what Carly considered to be his biker gang, she had gone out to her car in order to follow the ambulance that had taken Jack away. She had followed the ambulance all the way to the city hospital. And once there, she began to come up with a whole new plan.

As soon as night fell, Carly snuck her way into the nurses' locker room and found a uniform that would fit her. She couldn't believe that the nurses in that hospital still wore simple pink dresses with those funny hats with the red crosses on them, but she was fine with it as long as it got her in to see Jack. The next step was finding Jack's room. The hospital was being staffed by the nightshift, which meant there weren't many people around. With some slight difficulty, Carly was able to hack into the hospital database and find Jack's floor and room number.

Quietly, Carly made her way up to Jack's room and peeked inside. Jack was awake and sitting up, looking out the window of his room at the moon.

After taking a big gulp, Carly slowly opened the door and went in. "Um, Mr. Atlas?"

Jack turned from the window and looked at her. "A nurse was already in here. Did she forget something?"

"Well, actually, I'm not a nurse." Carly admitted. "I'm…"

"I get it. Another diehard fan that'd do anything to see me." Jack interrupted before she could finish. "Well I'm afraid there's not much to see. It turns out I wasn't that great of a champion after all."

"That's not true." Carly denied. "You're one of the best duelists I've ever seen. That Yusei guy just got a lucky break."

"Face it, I'm a fraud!" Jack insisted. "All the opponents I've faced before Yusei were hack duelists set up to lose."

"Are… are you saying all those duels you had were fixed?" Carly asked with disbelief.

"Seems that way." Jack chuckled darkly. "I guess in a way I was never really champion."

"But… it wasn't your ideas to fix those duels, was it?" Carly asked.

"Of course not!" Jack replied. "I was played by the one who set up all those duels. Above everything else, I'm a duelist."

"Then there's no problem." Carly told him optimistically, causing Jack to raise an eyebrow. "So what if you were just handed a bunch of weak opponents? You still dueled all of them fair and square, and gave it your best in every duel. So in my book, you were a champion."

"…What's your name, girl?" Jack asked with a small half-smile.

"Uh, Carly." She answered.

"Well Carly, how'd you like to help me get out of here?" Jack offered.

"Are you sure that's okay?" Carly asked.

"They're letting me out tomorrow afternoon, but I'd prefer not to stick around." Jack answered.

"Well, okay then." Carly agreed. "I guess you could stay at my place."

"That would be fine." Jack agreed.

With that, Carly helped to gather up Jack's things while Jack went into the small bathroom to get changed. The hard part came when it was time to smuggle Jack out of the hospital. Fortunately Carly found a nearby gurney and had Jack get on it. She then put a white sheet over him and hauled him out as if he was a corpse. Once they were safely out of the building, Carly got Jack to her car and they were off. Many times on the trip to her apartment, Carly pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So at last the love story component of this tale has finally begun. Sorry it took so long to set up.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. A Path of His Own

**Author's Note:** This chapter ended up being delayed because the pain in my neck got so bad that I ended up with a migraine. But the good news is that I'm over it now. And while some of the other issues in my life right now seem to be up in the air, working on this story has been helping me coop with it a bit. So thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story so far.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 6: A Path of His Own

Mikage went to the hospital early in the morning to pay a visit to Jack. But when she entered the room, she was greatly distressed to find that Jack wasn't even there. Mikage immediately flagged down the nearest nurse and asked her where Jack was. The nurse had no idea what had happened to Jack, and when she checked the records she found nothing to indicate that Jack had checked himself out. The doctor was quickly informed of the situation and assured Mikage that Jack probably wasn't in any serious danger.

Yet Mikage couldn't help but to assume the worst. For all she new, Jack had snuck out challenge Yusei to a secret rematch, only to get hurt along the way. Or even worse, Jack might've been kidnapped. Though Mikage had to admit that such a possibility was a bit unlikely. The hospital room showed no signs of struggle, and even in his weakened state Jack could probably have fought off an attacker. Even so, Mikage couldn't help but think the worst. She got out her cell phone and quickly dialed for Rex. As the phone rang, Mikage nervously tapped her right foot and ground her teeth. The person on the other end was taking far too long to pick up.

_"Director's office. Jaeger speaking."_ The clown's voice answered in his usual elegant manner.

"I need to speak to Director Goodwin." Mikage told him.

_"He's in a meeting right now, Ms. Mikage."_ Jaeger informed her. _"Surely whatever it is can wait."_

"Damn it! It's an emergency!" Mikage practically shouted.

_"My, my. Such a short fuse we have today."_ Jaeger remarked. _"Wait just a moment. I'll see if the director is available."_

Mikage was put on hold. She resumed tapping her foot and grinding her teeth. At one point Mikage checked her watch. She had been on hold for three whole minutes. Mikage began to imagine that Jaeger was simply sitting at his desk sipping tea, chuckling about her in his own creepy way. She never liked the little clown very much. Especially since he always seemed to treat her like dirt.

_"What is it, Mikage?"_ Rex's voice finally answered.

"Oh, Director Goodwin. I'm afraid that Mr. Atlas has disappeared from the hospital." Mikage reported. "The staff doesn't have any record of him leaving."

_"I see. Well I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later."_ Rex replied somewhat indifferently. _"In the meantime, I suppose I can send a few patrolman out to look for him."_

"But sir, Mr. Atlas could be in serious trouble." Mikage pointed out.

_"He's probably gone somewhere away from the public eye where he can sulk about his defeat alone."_ Rex assumed. _"If you're really so worried Mikage, than you can conduct a search of your own. Now if you'll excuse me, I have urgent business to attend to."_

With that, Rex hung up. Mikage sighed heavily and put her phone back in her pocket. She couldn't believe that Goodwin wasn't giving the matter top priority. Though given that Jack was no longer the city's champion, Mikage had to admit that she wasn't entirely surprised. Why go to such extreme lengths to track down someone who was already yesterday's news? Yusei had quickly become the next big thing.

Mikage turned to the window and began to recall the first time she met Jack. At the time she was rather offended by the assignment she had been given, which was to escort Jack around the city and assist him with whatever he needed. In short, it was practically babysitting. But Mikage's opinion started to change when she first saw the young man from Satellite. Right off the bat she found him quite handsome. And during their whirlwind tour of the city, Mikage had grown quite fond of Jack.

Then, after Jack had become Neo Domino's king of dueling, Mikage had been assigned as his manager and personal assistant. She had been with Jack through all of his duels and all the other stuff that came with his title. And during that time, though at times she had denied it, Mikage found that she had fallen in love with Jack. Mikage took a breath and stormed out of the hospital room. If Goodwin wasn't going to lift a finger to find Jack, than she would do everything in her power to find him on her own.

* * *

Jack awoke to find that he was in an unfamiliar room. It had peeling grey wallpaper and fairly cheap-looking old furniture. For a moment Jack thought that he might be back in Satellite until he remembered his little escape from the hospital with Carly. He was in her bedroom in the rather low-rent apartment that she called home. Jack got out of bed and went over to the window. It faced directly in front of another building, one with a dull brown brick wall.

Jack couldn't help but find his current surroundings suitable to his current situation. A rundown apartment in one of the most dismal parts of the city was the perfect place for a deposed false king like him. Yet he felt that he couldn't stay. He wanted to get out of the city and run away from it all. He wanted to leave his old life behind, run as far away from it as possible. Jack thought that he might be able to find a small out of the way town where he could start fresh.

With his plan decided, Jack peeked his head out the door. Carly was still sound asleep on the couch. As quietly as he could, Jack gathered what little belongings he had and got dressed. He then slowly crept out of the room through the living room and was soon out the door. Jack closed the door as quietly and firmly as possible. He had thought about leaving Carly a note of some sort, thanking her for her help, but at the end decided against it. Jack was never good at sappy goodbyes. But he did regret leaving Carly behind. For some reason he had quickly grown quite fond of her.

* * *

Carly awoke on the couch that morning with a slightly stiff back. She wasn't quite used to sleeping on the couch, and it wasn't the most comfortable piece of furniture to begin with. After a minute or so, Carly went to her apartment's small kitchen and prepared a small breakfast and put it on a tray to take to Jack. But when she got to the bedroom, Carly found that Jack was gone. Out of panic, she dropped the tray to the ground.

"What's wrong, Carly?" Hikari asked as she appeared with the other Fortune Fairy sisters.

"Jack's gone!" Carly explained with a finger pointing at the empty bed.

"Well it was bound to happen sooner or later." Ann cut in with a smirk. "As if anyone would want to stay in a dump like this. Especially with Carly as a roommate."

"You take that back!" Hikari protested.

"Or what, you little twerp?" Ann dared.

"Ann, Hikari, that's quite enough!" Chee scolded.

"You girls have to help me find him!" Carly frantically begged.

"Why the heck should we waste our time doing something like that?" Hu scoffed. "For all we know, the guy's probably skipped town by now."

"We should all try our best to help Carly find Mr. Atlas." Chee told them. "After all, if she can't interview him, she'll probably lose her job. Then it'll only be a matter of time before we're out on the street."

"Well we certainly can't have that." Swee declared. "It's bad enough that we have to live in the rat hole. I certainly don't want to live in a cardboard box in some filthy ally."

"Swee does have a point." Ann agreed with a heavy sigh. "Okay, let's try and track down this guy."

With that, the six fairies formed a circle before Carly and closed their eyes. Each of them began to glow with an aura that corresponded with their element. Carly had learned years ago that the Fortune Fairies could sometimes combine their powers to find missing items and people. They had used this power a couple of time when Carly had misplaced her glasses. After a moment, a ball of light formed in the middle of the circle and showed an image of Jack. He looked to be in a line at a ticket booth. Carly recognized the location as the Neo Domino monorail station. Jack was trying to skip town.

As fast as she could, Carly got down to her car with the Fortune Fairies. Thankfully, the vehicle started on the first attempt. Carly raced her car down to the station, praying that she would catch Jack before he left. After what seemed like an eternity, Carly finally made it to the station. She ran up to the ticket booth to find Jack arguing with the woman inside.

"Wait!" Carly cried out as she approached, getting Jack's attention. She stopped before Jack to catch her breath.

"What the duce are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"I came… to stop you… from leaving." Carly explained.

"You shouldn't have bothered." Jack told her. "The best thing for me is to get out of this city."

"So you're just going to run away, huh? That's a little cowardly, don't you think?" Carly pointed out. "Besides, where the heck would you go?"

Jack was about to argue, but his expression quickly softened. "I suppose you have a point. Running away would be the easy way out."

"Look, you can stay with me until you figure things out." Carly told him. "And I'll help you in any way I can."

"Alright then." Jack finally agreed. "But just one thing, what the bloody hell are those things?"

Carly looked at where Jack was pointing. The only things there were the Fortune Fairies.

"You can _see_ them?" a shocked Carly asked.

"Of course I can. Why wouldn't I be able to see them?" Jack replied as if the answer was obvious.

"Wow. We've never met anyone besides Carly who could see us." Fortune Fairy En remarked.

"Look, as far as I know, you and I are the only ones that can see these six." Carly explained. "I don't know how or why that is. But I'd appreciate it if we kept them our little secret, okay?"

"Fine." Jack agreed. "They don't seem to be too annoying."

"What the heck did you just call us?" an insulted Hu protested.

"That was mean!" a teary-eyed Hikari told him.

"Hey, I'm sure Jack didn't mean anything by that." Carly assured the six fairies. "For now, why don't you girls make yourselves scarce for awhile so Jack and I have some alone time?"

"That sounds like a good idea Carly." Chee gladly agreed. And with that, the six of them vanished.

"Where did they go?" Jack asked.

"That's one of the things about them that I've never been able to figure out." Carly admitted. "Hey, you know there's a carnival in town today. We could go there and hang out for awhile."

"Fine with me." Jack agreed.

"One thing before we go though. We should probably get you a disguise." Carly suggested. "You'd probably stick out too much if you went wearing your normal outfit."

A bit later, the two went to a nearby clothing store. There, Carly got Jack a disguise consisting of a blue buttoned up shirt with a dark-blue jacket and slacks with a matching hat and a pair of sunglasses. With the disguise complete, Carly drove Jack to a small carnival that was being held on the boardwalk of the city. They went to the various attractions and tried playing some of the small games. Carly was more enthusiastic about the whole thing than Jack was. But then Jack did have a lot of his mind.

After awhile, they ended up at the top of a small tower overlooking the ocean. Jack looked out across the ocean at Satellite. The island was clearly visible from where they were standing. Carly had hoped that the carnival would be the right setting to have her interview with Jack. But she had been having trouble getting it started. Yet interview or not, there were still a few questions that Carly felt she needed answered.

"So…" Carly began. "It seemed like you knew that Yusei guy and that biker gang of his."

"…Yusei and I grew up together." Jack revealed after a moment.

"Really? That's news to me. I don't remember anything about him from the biographies on you." Carly recalled.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. Those biographies on me are all bull." Jack told her. "I'm actually an orphan from Satellite."

"How'd you end up here then?" a surprised Carly asked.

"It's a long story." Jack replied. "It started when I got in a little trouble and ended up down in the Pit. I ended up making a deal with Goodwin that I thought would bring me freedom and glory. But all I did was end up becoming Goodwin's puppet."

"Yusei said something about settling a score." Carly recalled. "Did you and he duel down in the Pit?"

"He was the last opponent I defeated before getting out." Jack confirmed.

"And you didn't have a problem with that? I mean you said that you guys grew up together." Carly pointed out.

"Back then I didn't care who I trampled over to get what I wanted most." Jack revealed. "I thought that Yusei and all the other people I knew were only holding me back. But maybe I was wrong."

"…You know the way I see it, Yusei defeated the old fake Jack Atlas." Carly remarked. "Which means that the real Jack can finally come back as a true king."

"I guess that is a nice way to look at it." Jack agreed with a half smile. "But I do know one thing for sure. I'm not going to let myself be used by Goodwin or anyone else. From now on, I'm following my own path!"

"That's the spirit!" Carly said optimistically.

"Let's get out of here." Jack decided. "I'm getting a little tired of this place."

* * *

Night had fallen, and Rex stood looking out over the city from his office. The Skeleton Knight appeared on the other side of his desk out of a dark mist.

"How are things going, brother?" the undead knight asked.

"Everything is proceeding smoothly." Rex reported. "The only slight problem that has occurred is Jack suddenly disappearing. But his usefulness has come to an end."

"What about Yusei and his friends?" the Skeleton Knight asked.

"It's been a big adjustment for them, but they seem to be doing fine, for the most part." Rex answered. "They asked me to try and track you down of course."

"Yes, I'm sure you're doing everything in your power to find me for them." The Skeleton Knight laughed.

"Tell me something though, brother. What do you plan to do with the friends of Yusei's that you captured?" Rex asked as he turned to face the knight.

"I haven't decided yet." The knight admitted. "Right now my focus has been more on Yusei's friend, Kiryu. I think we could make very good use of him."

"Fine, but try not to let things go out of hand." Rex warned. "I don't want anything that would jeopardize our ultimate goal. Remember what we're fighting for."

"Don't worry, Rex. I have everything under control." The Skeleton Knight assured him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** In retrospect, I guess I could've combined this chapter with the last one. But to me it seemed to work out better this way. Anyway, the next chapter will focus a little more on Kiryu. But there will be a bit more Jack and Carly action in the next chapter too.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. Night of the Immortals, Part 1

**Author's Note:** From the lack of response I've gotten, it seems that the last chapter of this story wasn't all that great. Sorry about that. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 7: Night of the Immortals, Part 1

When Yusei and his friends learned that they would be staying in the home that once belonged to Yusei's late parents, they didn't expect that home to be a white two-story mansion with ten bedrooms and a dining room that could seat twenty. They certainly didn't expect that home to come with a large adjoining garage with its own workshop and enough room to store all their D-Wheels. And none of them expected there to be a guesthouse with its own pool. The place was quite a drastic change from what Yusei and most of his friends were used to. After spending much of their lives in Satellite they were used to living in structures that seemed like they might fall down around them with a simple gust of wind. Even the Bird's Nest, which over time had been upgraded into a comfortable building with its own heat and generator, was a far cry from the mansion that Yusei had inherited.

As Yusei and the others had learned from Rex, Yusei's late mother apparently came from a fairly rich family that had pretty much died off, leaving Yusei the soul heir. After two days though, Yusei and the gang had gotten more used to living on the large estate. Though they had been spending much of their time trying to track down the Skeleton Knight. Unfortunately they had no leads and no idea where to start looking. And it did not appear that Rex was doing anything at all to help.

That afternoon, Yusei was in his father's old study looking at some papers he had found. Yusei never knew either of his parents, so he wanted to learn as much about them as he could.

Aki walked into the room and knocked on the open door, getting Yusei's attention. "Sorry to disturb you."

"It's fine. What's up?" Yusei asked.

"Crow and Raven just got back from another trip to the library." Aki explained as she walked further into the room. "They still didn't find anything about the Skeleton Knight."

"There has to be some kind of clue." A frustrated Yusei insisted. "He made us come all this way to the city and he hasn't made a single move since then."

"Don't worry. We'll figure this out." Aki assured him. "So, what're you reading?"

"Just some old research notes my dad wrote." Yusei answered. "He really was a genius."

"That's probably where you get it from." Aki assumed. "You're the most brilliant man I've ever known."

Before the conversation could continue any further, the couple was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. The sound wasn't that of a normal doorbell, but rather that of a large gong. It was understandable for such a large house to need such a loud doorbell that could be heard throughout the whole house. But it was still a very startling sound nonetheless. Yusei and Aki went downstairs to answer the door. Awaiting them on the other side was Jaeger.

"Ah, Mr. Fudo. Ms. Izayoi. I trust you're having a splendid afternoon." The clown greeted.

"Did Goodwin find a lead on the Skeleton Knight?" Yusei asked.

"Sadly, no." Jaeger answered. "I'm here for a different reason entirely. You've both been invited to a small party the director is holding tonight at his home. You may also bring a couple of your friends if you wish."

"We could use a night off." Aki suggested. "I mean it's not like we've been getting anywhere finding the Skeleton Knight."

"Alright. We'll go." Yusei agreed.

"Excellent. The party will begin at 7:00." Jaeger informed them. "Ta for now." With that, Jaeger left.

"Well, I guess we should ask the others are interested in this party." Aki decided. She noticed the troubled look on Yusei's face. "What's wrong?"

"I can't shake the feeling that Goodwin is playing us somehow." Yusei admitted. "I don't think he's even lifted a finger to try and find the Skeleton Knight."

"It could be he's having just as much trouble as we are." Aki pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe. Or he's connected to the Skeleton Knight." Yusei theorized. "Just before Aporia died, he mentioned that the Skeleton Knight had a comrade. What if the comrade he was talking about is Goodwin?"

"Well if that's true, what do we do?" a shocked Aki asked.

"For now, all we can do is just play along with whatever game Goodwin is playing." Yusei decided. "He might be our only real lead to the Skeleton Knight."

* * *

Carly went up the stairs to her apartment with a bag of groceries in her arms. She had a bit more in the bag than usual, but it was well worth it. The past two days of living with Jack had been bliss. There were two large problems though. The first was that Carly hadn't gotten the interview her boss had asked for. She had been feeling conflicted about the whole thing ever since Jack had moved in.

The other problem Carly was having that she hadn't yet told Jack that she was actually a reporter. She was afraid of how Jack would react when he found out. Carly was sure that the last thing he'd want to deal with was a reporter, just another vulture that wanted to eat away at the carcass of his dueling career. Thus Carly had found herself in a paradox. If she told Jack the truth about what she was, Jack would most likely leave her. Yet if she didn't get the interview, her boss would definitely fire her. Either way she looked at it, the outcome was very bad. And the deadline to decide what to do was fast approaching.

Carly put the situation out of her mind when she entered the apartment. Jack was sitting on the couch watching the television. That was what Jack had been doing during half of his stay. For the other half he had been taking long walks around the neighborhood. Jack had resolved to find a new path, but he seemed to be having a little trouble figuring out what that path was.

"Hey Jack." Carly greeted as she went to the small kitchen.

Jack didn't respond. His eyes were still fixed to the T.V. Carly glanced at the screen and saw her rival, Angela, interviewing Rex. And the subject of course was Yusei.

"Goodwin seems to be doing a good job answering everyone's questions about your old rival." Carly observed.

"At least most of the stuff he's said is the truth." Jack pointed out. "Unlike everything he's said about my past, which was all a lie."

"The truth is more interesting than any fiction, in this case." Carly remarked. "You know I just heard on the radio that Yusei's girlfriend was framed for murder by the Infinity Triad when she was just a kid. And that she's the daughter of a late senator."

"I still don't know what Yusei sees in that girl." Jack commented. "Though I suppose she is fairly attractive."

"Hey, have you thought about challenging Yusei to a rematch?" Carly suddenly suggested. "If you beat him, you'd not only get your title back, you'd be showing everyone the real you."

"Of course I've thought about dueling Yusei again. But the truth is I'm not nearly as strong as he's become." Jack admitted. "You saw that monster he defeated me with in our last duel. I have to figure out a way to become that strong."

"I'll help you in any way I can." Carly assured him.

"Well then, you can start by making dinner." Jack smiled.

"You got it." Carly gladly agreed.

* * *

Yusei checked himself in the mirror one last time as he finished putting on a black tuxedo with a blue bowtie and cummerbund, which he had obtained on a small shopping trip with Aki, Raven, and Crow earlier that afternoon. He felt that he looked acceptable at least. Aki and the others had given their approval when he had tried it on at the store.

Aki entered the room. "How do I look?"

Yusei turned around to see Aki wearing a sparkling red backless dress with pink elbow-high gloves. "Wow! You look amazing."

"Thanks." Aki replied with a blush. "We should get going. The others are all waiting downstairs."

As the couple headed down the staircase, they saw Crow and Raven waiting by the door. Crow was wearing a brown tuxedo with an orange tie and cummerbund, while Raven was wearing a dark-blue dress with matching elbow-high gloves and a black shall. Her hair had been arranged into a braid for the occasion.

"Wow. You guys look great." Crow complimented.

"Thanks." Yusei replied. He then noticed that Bruno, Sect, and the twins were there too. "You sure you guys are okay with not going?"

"That kind of party doesn't seem like my thing." Sect assured them. "And I'm sure the twins would be bored out of their minds at something like that."

"As for me, I'm going to try and do some research on Director Goodwin." Bruno replied. "I might be able to find out if he really is connected to the Skeleton Knight."

"Hey, where's Kiryu?" Aki asked.

"He just went out for a ride a few minutes ago." Sect informed them. "Said he wanted to clear his head."

"He has had a lot on his mind lately with all this Earthbound Immortal stuff." Raven pointed out. "I don't blame him for being worried."

"I'm a bit worried about that too." Yusei admitted. "Well, we should probably get going. I'm sure Kiryu will be okay."

* * *

Kiryu rode at top speed down the highway. He had been riding for a little over an hour. But not even the feeling of the wind against his face could make him forget his most troubling problem. No matter how he looked at it, Kiryu saw himself as a danger to everyone around him. He didn't understand how, but he could feel the power of the Earthbound Immortal he was connected to pulling at his mind. It seemed that it was just a matter of time before the creature fully awakened and consumed him. Kiryu had to figure out a way to control that dark power before it took control of him. But he had no idea where to start.

Just as Kiryu was about to head back towards the Fudo mansion, he saw a sort of shadowy mass heading towards him at high speed. In moments a person on a black and silver D-Wheel emerged from the mass. The person was a young woman in her late teens with pink hair and very pale skin. She had on a tattered black cape with a black helmet that had a spider motif. The rest of her outfit consisted of a black string bikini top with black jeans and black elbow-high gloves. She had a red triangular mark on her cheek and her eyes were black with purple irises. Kiryu immediately recognized the young woman as a member of the captured Blackbird Gang known as Bandit.

"Hello Kiryu." Bandit greeted. "Nice night for a ride, isn't it?"

"Bandit, are you okay?" a concerned Kiryu asked. "How did you escape?"

"Your friend hasn't escaped. I'm merely using her as a puppet." Bandit told him as she held up her right arm, which had a glowing purple spider-shaped mark.

"Skeleton Knight!" Kiryu quickly realized. "Let Bandit go, now!"

"I'll consider it." The undead knight replied through Bandit. "In the meantime, I intend to use her as a proxy so that we can have a little duel."

"Fine! If it's a fight you want, you've got it!" Kiryu agreed.

Just as the two of them began to rev their vehicles up for a duel, a purple mark suddenly appeared on Kiryu's arm. It was the same mark that had appeared before when Crow had dueled the Skeleton Knight, a mark that resembled a sort of human figure. Kiryu suddenly realized that this duel could fully awaken his Earthbound Immortal. But there was no going back.

"This is going to be fun." The possessed Bandit grinned.

* * *

With nothing else going on, Leo and Luna had settled in to watch a movie. After a short debate that took place just a few minutes before Yusei and the other three left for the party, the twins had narrowed the choices down to two. Leo's pick was a somewhat cheesy alien movie called _The Thing from Saturn 2_, and Luna's pick was a fantasy movie called _Princess Sparkle of Sunflower Medow_. Due to Leo losing a three-round game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, they ended up watching Luna's pick. They had gotten over half-way through the movie to the part where the princess was about to rescue her captured pet unicorn from the evil wizard when both their Signer marks began to glow red.

"Something bad must be going on." Leo realized.

"We better go tell Bruno and Sect." Luna decided. And with that, they stopped the movie and quickly left the room.

* * *

The party at the Goodwin mansion had been relatively dull. It had been nothing more than a bunch of wealthy elitists exchanging hot air. Yusei and Aki did find that a few of the people at that party had known their families. But the four of them were largely ignored. It wasn't much of a surprise though. Despite whatever families they came from, they were still from Satellite. And so the evening had quickly turned to Yusei and his three companions taking up a spot by the wall.

"Well this turned out to be a real blast." Crow stated sarcastically.

"At least we got to dress up." Raven optimistically pointed out.

"You know what this is all about though Yusei. Goodwin's trying to show off his new champion." Crow assumed.

"That might be part of it." Yusei agreed.

Before the conversation could go any further, Yusei, Aki, and Crow's Signer marks began to glow. As did the seal on Raven's back.

"What's going on?" Aki wondered as she tried to hide the light from her mark.

"The power of an Earthbound Immortal is beginning to stir." Raven informed them.

"Does this have anything to do with Kiryu?" Yusei asked.

"It looks that way." Raven grimly replied. "But it could be the Skeleton Knight too. Either way, things don't look good."

"Then let's get the hell out of here!" Crow decided. "This party's going nowhere anyway."

* * *

Jack and Carly had more or less settled in for a quiet evening. The two of them had started watching a movie that Carly had selected, a tearjerker romance film called _A Kiss for Eternity_. Jack found the film rather nauseating. But Carly seemed to like it, so Jack decided to just tough it out. As the film's female lead began to cry for what seemed like the fiftieth time when the mark on his arm suddenly began to glow.

Carly noticed the mark almost instantly. "What the heck is that?"

"It's a birthmark I have. And it's not the first time it's done something like this." Jack explained.

"That's right. Your arm glowed when you dueled Yusei." Carly recalled.

"It's glowed a few other times over the last month or so." Jack admitted. "I've never known what it means."

"Carly!" Fortune Fairy Hikari frantically interrupted as she appeared with her sisters. "There's something really big going on."

"What is it?" Carly asked.

"We don't know." Ann admitted. "But we know where it's happening."

"Then take us there at once." Jack ordered as he stood up from the couch. "I want to find out just what's going on."

* * *

Kiryu and the possessed Bandit raced full speed towards the first intersection. In a split second, Kiryu took the corner first.

"Track Field, activate! Infernity Wasteland!" Kiryu called out. All at once, an endless desert replaced the massive city and a hot noonday sun had replaced the night sky above. "I start by summoning Infernity Dwarf in Defense Mode!"

Appearing alongside Kiryu was a squat humanoid with grey skin and a shaggy dark-grey beard. He had on a tattered farm hat and dusty overalls. In his hands, the dwarf carried a large axe with a long grey handle.

"Next I activate the Continuous Spell, Infernity Launcher!" Kiryu announced. "With Infernity Launcher's effect I send Infernity General from my hand to the Graveyard! Finally, I activate one of Infernity Wasteland's effects and discard Infernity Archfiend! That ends my turn!"

Bandit drew her first card. "I summon Skull Spider-Savage Wolf in attack mode!"

Materializing onto the field was a large grey furry spider with four red eyes and sharp fangs. Each of its eight legs had two black stripes, and on the top of its abdomen had a large black skull-shaped mark.

"Savage Wolf, attack Infernity Dwarf!" Bandit commanded. "Predatory Fang!"

The feral spider leapt high into the air and tackled Kiryu's dwarf to the ground. After Savage Wolf bit down, Infernity Dwarf shattered into bits of light and vanished.

"When Savage Wolf destroys a monster in battle, it deals damage equal to that monster's ATK." Bandit revealed. "Meaning you take 800 points of damage!"

The spider rose up and sprayed Kiryu with a green acid. Kiryu's life points went down to 3200. As Kiryu recovered from the damage, Yusei and the rest of the group that had gone to the party rode up from behind on their D-Wheels. Sect, Bruno, and the twins soon joined them.

"Kiryu, are you okay?" Yusei called up.

"Yeah, I'm fine for now." Kiryu assured them.

"No way! Is that Bandit?" Sect quickly observed.

"It's not really Bandit. The Skeleton Knight is controlling her like some kind of puppet." Kiryu explained.

"Let her go, you bonehead!" Crow furiously demanded.

"I think not." The knight laughed through Bandit. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

"I activate another one of Infernity Wasteland's effects!" Kiryu announced. "Instead of my normal draw, I can add an Infernity monster to my hand. So I now add to my hand, Infernity Beetle!" He took the card that popped out of his deck. "Yusei, don't freak out at what I'm about to do."

"I trust you." Yusei nodded.

"I activate one of Infernity Launcher's effects and send Infernity Necromancer to the Graveyard!" Kiryu announced. "Next I activate Infernity Wasteland and discard Infernity Knight! Now I summon Infernity Beetle in Attack mode!" A large black three-horned beetle materialized on the field. "I activate Infernity Beetle's effect! Since I have no cards in my hand, I tribute Infernity Beetle to summon two more from my deck!"

The black beetle shattered into bits of light and became a large whirlwind. Two identical bugs flew out of the twister shortly before it vanished.

"I banish Infernity General from my Graveyard to summon Infernity Knight and Infernity Necromancer!" Kiryu announced.

Two new monsters rose onto the field out of a hole of black energy in the ground. One of them was a white skeleton dressed in purple robes and a green-feathered headdress. The other was a knight clad in black armor.

"I tune the level two Infernity Beetle into the level three Infernity Necromancer and the level three Infernity Knight for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Kiryu announced.

One of the two large beetles flashed orange and changed into two rings of green light and encircled the two new monsters. The knight and the necromancer then became six balls of white light.

"Shadows of the underworld come together! Open now the gates of the abyss!" Kiryu chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise from the pit, Void Ogre Dragon!"

The lights flashed and exploded into a pillar of crimson flames. The flames died down after a moment to reveal a winged dragon with large claws and scaled the color of dried blood. Adorning parts of its body were a few round blood-red stones.

"That's the dragon Kiryu used against me at the bottom of the Pit!" Yusei observed.

"You mean the one that you said drove him nuts?" a startled Crow asked.

"I activate another of Infernity Launcher's effects!" Kiryu continued. "Because I have no cards to my hand, I can send Infernity Laucher to the Graveyard to summon Infernity Dwarf and Infernity Archfiend!"

Kiryu's Spell card exploded into a blast of red flames. The flames died down to reveal Infernity Dwarf, and a grey demon with straight fiery red hair wearing blue and orange robes.

"I tune the level two Infernity Beetle into the level two Infernity Dwarf and the level four Infernity Archfiend for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Kiryu announced.

The second beetle flashed orange and changed into another pair of green rings. The rings encircled the pair of monsters and changed them into eight balls of white light.

"When the curtain of darkness descends down, the eyes of the underworld will open! Swoop down, darkness!" Kiryu chanted. "Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Hundred Eyes Dragon!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a massive pillar of black energy. The energy soon died down to reveal another dragon. It was black in color and had its wings on its arms. The dragon's entire body was covered in purple eyes, with one large eye on the center of its chest.

"Whoa! Two level eight dragons in one turn!" a very impressed Leo observed. "And both with 3000 ATK."

"Nice to see that you're still using the two cards I gave you." Bandit remarked.

"Wait a minute. Kiryu, when did the Skeleton Knight give you that second dragon?" Yusei asked.

"I gave it to him just before you went to rescue Aki from Placido." The knight explained through a grinning Bandit. "Didn't he tell you?"

"I told you Yusei, I can handle this." Kiryu assured him. "If I'm going to fight against this darkness that's trying to take me over, I'm going to start now!"

"Oh just let the darkness take control." Bandit suggested. "You'll be much stronger for it."

"I activate the effect of Hundred Eyes Dragon!" Kiryu continued, Ignoring Bandit. "By banishing Infernity Dwarf from the Graveyard, Hundred Eyes Dragon gains his effect until the end of the turn!"

A ghostly version of Kiryu Dwarf appeared and flew into the large eye on the dragon's chest. All of the eyes on the dragon's body then began to glow with an unearthly purple light.

"Void Ogre Dragon, attack Savage Wolf!" Kiryu commanded. "Hellfire Shot!"

"I activate a Trap, Mirror Force!" Bandit announced.

"Then I activate Void Ogre Dragon's effect!" Kiryu announced. "Since I have no cards in my hand, Void Ogre can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap card!"

"Then I activate my other Trap, Divine Wrath!" Bandit announced. But when she pressed the appropriate button on her D-Wheel, nothing happened. "What!"

"Because I have no cards in my hand, Infernity Wasteland prevents card effects from countering the effects of my monsters." Kiryu explained.

After skewering the large representation of Bandit's Mirror Force card, Void Ogre Dragon incinerated the grey spider with a blast of red flames. Bandit's life points dropped down to 2900.

"Because you destroyed Savage Wolf in battle, I can set a Skull Spider monster from my deck onto the field." Bandit announced.

"Because Hundred Eyes Dragon has Infernity Dwarf's effect, it inflicts battle damage when it destroys a Defense Position monster in battle." Kiryu revealed. "Hundred Eyes Dragon attack Bandit's face down monster! Infinity Sight Stream!"

Kiryu's second dragon reared back its head and blasted the second monster with a stream of purple light. Before being obliterated, Bandit's monster was revealed as a fairly large purple spider with stubby red legs and a white skull mark on its large abdomen. The spider exploded in a blast of green slime and Bandit's life points dropped down to a mere 800. Yet at the same time, some of the slime splashed onto Hundred Eyes Dragon, causing it to suddenly collapse and dissolve into particles of black dust. Kiryu's life points then inexplicably dropped to 1700.

"What just happened?" Kiryu asked.

"The monster you destroyed was Skull Spider-Assassin Fang." Bandit explained. "When Assassin Fang is destroyed in battle, the monster that attacked it is killed and my opponent takes half its ATK as damage. But that's not all that's happened Kiryu."

Suddenly Kiryu's deck began to emit a black aura. A card then flew out from the bottom of the deck and went into Kiryu's empty hand. It was a card that Kiryu had never seen before, but he knew what it was immediately. Suddenly his head began to feel like it was in a vice and the mark on his arm reappeared.

"What… is this?" Kiryu asked.

"Didn't you read the fine print in Hundred Eyes Dragon's effect? When it's destroyed, the player can add an Earthbound Immortal to the hand." Bandit grinned.

"Kiryu's Earthbound Immortal is close to awakening!" Raven quickly realized.

"Since you obviously can't do anything more this turn, I'm going to start." Bandit decided as she drew a card. "I summon the Tuner monster, Skull Spider-Silk Strummer!"

Appearing on the field alongside Bandit was a fairly large black spider with long thin red legs and four large green eyes. A white skull mark was on its abdomen, and with its two pairs of front legs it held a sort of red banjo with silk threads.

"When Silk Strummer is summoned to the field, I can bring back a Skull Spider from the Graveyard in Defense Mode." Bandit explained. "Reappear now, Skull Spider-Assassin Fang!"

Silk Strummer played a short odd tune on its instrument, causing a spider web of red light to appear. The purple spider that had killed Hundred Eyes Dragon came out of the web.

"Because you have a card in your hand, you can't use Void Ogre Dragon's effect. So now I activate a Spell card, Web of Rebirth!" Bandit announced. "With this card, I can bring back a Skull Spider from the Graveyard in Defense Mode with zero ATK. Arise, Skull Spider-Savage Wolf!"

A spider web of green light appeared next to the two other spiders. Savage Wolf emerged from the web before it disappeared.

"I now tune the level two Silk Strummer into the level two Assassin Fang and the level four Savage Wolf for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Bandit announced.

The spider musician played another strange tune before changing into two rings of purple light. The rings encircled the other two spiders and converted them into six balls of crackling black energy.

"The threads of darkness shall be woven together to create the web of pain! Take witness to the ascension of its solitary ruler!" Bandit chanted. "Synchro Summon! The queen of pain and death, Skull Spider Queen-Black Widow!"

The dark lights erupted into a massive pillar of black energy. After the moment the energy faded with reveal a well-endowed woman with chalk-white skin and six arms. Her hair was black and went down to her lower back. She had red eyes and ruby-red lips. The fingernails of each hand were long and black. On her torso the woman had a black and silver breastplate with a pair of creatively placed silver skull-shaped markings. She also had on a long skirt that went down to her ankles and was open a bit in front. The skirt was black until just above the knees, where it became a silver transparent fabric with a black spider web pattern. With the skirt, the woman wore black leather knee-high high-heeled boots, and on each of her six arms she wore fingerless black leather gloves that ended in the middle of the upper arm. Around her neck she wore a black leather strap with a silver buckle, along with a necklace in the shape of a black widow spider. Atop her head was a silver tiara with a singe green gemstone in the center.

"I activate Black Widow's effect!" Bandit announced. "Once per turn I can change the battle position of an opponent's monster. So I now switch Void Ogre Dragon to Defense Mode!"

The spider queen launched thick silk threads from the bottom of each of her wrists and snared Kiryu's remaining dragon. With a tug of all six arms, the bound dragon was pulled off balance.

"Black Widow gains 300 ATK for each of my opponent's monsters, which means her ATK right now is 3100." Bandit revealed. "Making her just strong enough to beat your dragon in both ATK and DEF. Black Widow, destroy Void Ogre Dragon! Web of Pain!"

With her webs still around Void Ogre, Black Widow shocked the dragon with streams of crackling black electricity. The dragon cried out in pain before finally shattering into bits of purple light.

"When Black Widow destroys a monster in Defense Mode, she inflicts half that monster's DEF as damage!" Bandit announced.

From her upper right arm, the spider queen created a silken whip that she used to strike Kiryu. The lash caused Kiryu's life points to fall down to 200.

"Since you no longer have any monsters, Black Widow's ATK drops back to 2800. But I now fix that problem by playing another Spell card, Gift of the Spider Queen!" Bandit announced. "Since a Skull Spider Queen just destroyed an opposing monster, I can summon two Phantom Spider tokens to my opponent's field in Defense Mode!"

Two shadowy black balls shot out of Black Widow's necklace. The balls began to float alongside Kiryu and changed into a pair of black nondescript spiders.

"Thanks to those spiders, Black Widow's ATK goes back up to 3400." Bandit pointed out. "That ends my turn, which means you now have to make a decision, Kiryu. Face it, there's only one way out of your current predicament. And it's in your hand right now. I provided you the perfect opening. So just make things easy on yourself and take it."

"Don't do it, Kiryu!" Yusei cut in. "You'd only be doing what the Skeleton Knight wants!"

"Yeah. Plus think of what might happened to Bandit if you went through with it!" Crow added.

Kiryu mindlessly drew his next card. "I… I tribute the two Phantom Spider tokens to summon… Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!"

The two black spiders shattered to bits and a massive pillar of blue light shot up into the air. The sky overhead became thick with black clouds. In moments the light faded to reveal a gigantic almost human-shaped shadow with blue lines on parts of its body. On its head it had a blue circle that seemed to serve as an eye. With the giant's appearance, Kiryu burst into a fit of maniacal laughter.

"We're too late. The Earthbound Immortal's power has consumed him." Raven said grimly.

"Ccapac Apu, attack Bandit directly!" Kiryu commanded with insane glee. "Hand of Death!"

The giant shadow began to move its massive hand down towards Kiryu. Bandit laughed maniacally just before the hand slammed down on her and brought her life points to zero, causing her to shatter into black mist. With the duel over, Ccapac Apu vanished and the surroundings returned to normal. Everyone came to a stop near a freeway overpass. Kiryu broke into another fit of mad laughter and looked back at his concerned friends.

"Who wants to go next?" Kiryu dared. "Who wants to be the next to die?"

"Looks like there's no choice but to duel him." Crow gravely observed.

Just before Yusei was about to take Kiryu's challenge, a massive object suddenly crashed down from the bridge above between Yusei and Kiryu. The object in question was a very large three-wheeled vehicle with a silver cow skull towards the front. The rider was a very large and muscular man with dark-tan skin and long black hair.

"Looks like it's a good thing I was in the area." The rider observed before turning to Yusei. "You stay back. I'll handle this."

"And just who are you?" Kiryu asked.

"The name's Greiger." The giant answered. "Let's dance, psycho!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** So the thing about Yusei's mother being from a wealthy family was just something I made up for this story just to explain how Yusei and the others ended up in a mansion. To be fair, we didn't really learn much about Yusei's mother in the anime. As I recall, all we saw was a picture of her that was only in one episode for about a few seconds. So I just used a little creative license. Besides, this is an AU, so I can more or less do what I want (within reason of course).

The duel for this chapter was a little hard to write. Mainly because I had no idea who Kiryu's opponent would be, other than a puppet of the Skeleton Knight. But since the opponent was only going to be a Skeleton Knight pawn, I decided to simply have that character use more of the Skeleton Knight's cards. Which gave me a chance to expand the Skull Spiders and give them a queen (though Black Widow won't be the only queen they have). It was a last minute decision to have the opponent be Bandit, a minor character from _Stardust and Roses_. During that story I kept trying to work Bandit in more, but most of her scenes kept getting cut. I guess that's all the more reason for me to do that prequel that shows the formation of the Blackbird Gang at some point.

I hope Greiger's appearance in this story wasn't too unexpected. I had originally planed not to use Greiger at all. He was never really one of my favorite characters from 5D's. But he was a Dark Signer in the anime, and I realized that he could play a very important role in this story. As he shall do in the next chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	9. Night of the Immortals, Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 8: Night of the Immortals, Part 2

"You must have a death wish if you're so eager to take me on." Kiryu chuckled madly at Greiger as they took their starting positions on the road. "I think I'm gonna enjoy slaughtering you!"

Greiger ignored him and in seconds they took off at top speed. Yusei and the others followed from behind to watch. Kiryu's D-Wheel easily pulled ahead of Greiger and took the first curve.

"Track Field, activate!" Kiryu cackled. "Domain of the Earthbound!"

The city and highway vanished and transformed into a grey wasteland under a sky with thick black clouds. It was the same Track Field that the Skeleton Knight had used in his duel with Crow.

"I summon Infernity Knight in Defense Mode!" Kiryu announced. His black knight materialized onto the battlefield. "That ends my turn!"

Greiger drew his first card. "I activate the Spell card, Polymerization! From my hand I fuse Roar Vulcan and Vanguard to summon Ignition Beast Volcannon!"

Dropping onto a field through a vortex in the sky was a metal grey creature that resembled a dragon. It had four arms and a large horn on the top of its snout. On its shoulders were red metal three-chambered cannons. The dragon's rear end had a large round black sphere with a fuse on it.

"When Volcannon is summoned, I can destroy both it and an opponent's monster!" Greiger announced. "And when that monster is destroyed, my opponent takes damage equal to its ATK. So now I use Volcannon's effect to destroy Infernity Knight!"

The fuse attached to Volcannon ignited, and in seconds the mechanical dragon exploded into a wave of flames that consumed Kiryu and Infernity Knight. Kiryu emerged from the flames cackling, but his black knight was no more and his life points had dropped to 2600.

"That was a pretty good move." Kiryu praised. "But when Infernity Knight is destroyed, I can discard two cards to bring it back to the field!" The black knight reappeared alongside Kiryu.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn!" Greiger announced.

Kiryu's grin widened as he drew his next card. "I sacrifice Infernity Knight to summon… Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!"

Infernity Knight shattered and the mark on Kiryu's arm began to glow purple. Walls of purple flame appeared on both sides of the track and a pillar of blue light erupted into the sky. The light quickly faded to reveal Kiryu's shadowy giant.

"No way! He had that thing in his hand from the beginning?" a shocked Sect realized.

"That Greiger guy is gonna be crushed!" Crow assumed.

* * *

Carly and Jack had attempted to rush to the site of the supernatural event that Jack and the Fortune Fairies were sensing, but they had come to a dead stop. That was because Carly's car had been stopped by a very common phenomenon, a traffic jam. The two had been packed into a line of cars that seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions.

"What the bloody hell is the hold up?" Jack impatiently wondered. "It seems like we've been here for hours!"

Carly looked at a computer monitor mounted on the car dashboard. "Looks like someone's using the road to have a duel."

"How can you tell that?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I put a special kind of radar that detects active duel disks and D-Wheels." Carly explained, patting the top of the monitor. "I put it in to let me know if there are any exciting duels going on nearby. It cost a lot to install, but it was worth it."

"Well whatever's going on probably has something to do with that duel." Jack assumed.

Carly felt certain that Jack was right. Though she didn't say anything about it to him. All she knew for sure though was that ever since they had gotten closer to where they were headed she had been feeling a sort of strange energy rushing through her, almost as if she had touched an un-insulated wire. Her right arm felt like it was on fire.

* * *

"Ccapac Apu, attack him directly!" Kiryu gleefully commanded. "Hand of Death!"

The shadowy giant lowered it hand to crush Greiger into the ground. Yusei and the others quickly backed off to avoid being struck as well. Ccapac Apu's attack made contact, stopping Greiger in his tracks. But after a moment, the giant quickly pulled its hand away and Greiger's massive D-Wheel shot out from under it. Greiger was catching his breath and his life points had fallen to 1000.

Yusei managed to pull ahead of Greiger and ride alongside Kiryu. "This has to stop, Kiryu! This isn't you!"

"I'll be more than happy to kill you when I'm done Yusei." Kiryu laughed. "But for right now, back off!"

"Hey! You on the red D-Wheel!" Greiger interrupted. "Just sit back and let me handle your friend."

"Do as he says, Yusei!" Aki called up. "I think Greiger knows what he's doing."

Yusei gritted his teeth and slowed down in order to fall back. After a moment he had rejoined the other spectators of the duel.

"You seem to have a lot of people who care about you." Greiger observed to Kiryu. "They'd probably feel real bad if you screwed everything up now and let this darkness take you over."

"Just shut up and duel!" Kiryu shot back. "I'm done with my turn!"

"Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way." Greiger sighed as he drew his next card. "Because there's an Earthbound Immortal on the field, I can discard one card to Special Summon the Tuner monster, Spirit Cleanser Sky Dolphin!"

Flying down onto the battlefield was a creature that looked like a snow-white dolphin with flippers that were like a pair of wings. A long purple line ran down the sides of its body.

"Normally only one Earthbound Immortal can be on the field at a time, but Domain of the Earthbound waves that little rule." Greiger revealed. "So now I activate my Trap, Revival of the Immortals! With this card, I bring back the card I discarded to summon Sky Dolphin!"

Suddenly a glowing purple mark appeared on Greiger's right forearm. This mark was in the shape of what looked like a fish or a whale.

"He has and Earthbound Immortal too?" a stunned Crow realized.

"Rise up, Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua!" Greiger called.

Suddenly bursting up through the earth like a submarine beaching the surface of the water was a massive creature that looked like a black whale with a purple underside. The whale had a very unsettling, almost monstrous appearance.

"Hey, if this guy has an Earthbound Immortal too, how come he's not going crazy like Kiryu?" Leo wondered.

"I think Greiger's one of those who can control an Earthbound Immortal." Raven theorized.

"You mean like the Skeleton Knight?" Aki asked.

"Not quite like that." Raven answered.

"I tune the level two Sky Dolphin into the level ten Chacu Challhua for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Greiger announced.

Sky Dolphin made a few clicking noises and became two rings made out of white light. The rings expanded and encircled the earthbound whale. They shrank and went inside Chacu Challhua, causing the whale's body to light up the sky.

"A shining resonance reverberates through heaven and earth! Its power purifies the land and its protector!" Greiger chanted. "Synchro Summon! Rise up, Earthbound Guardian Chacu Challhua!"

The light cleared and Chacu Challhua had completely transformed and had taken on a gentler appearance. Its body had become white with a purple underside, and it had gained large circular purple marks over both its now visible eyes. Jutting forward from its forehead was a long horn made of purple crystal.

"What's going on?" Kiryu demanded to know.

"This is the form Chacu Challhua had before it was consumed by darkness." Greiger explained. "I activate Chacu Challhua's effect! Once per turn, Chacu Challhua can negate the effects of an opponent's monster until the end of the turn. And the monster I target with this effect is Ccapac Apu!"

A beam of purple light shot forth from Chacu Challhua's horn and struck Kiryu's giant. The blue lines on Ccpac Apu's body turned grey and became dull.

"I now activate Sky Dolphin's effect from the Graveyard!" Greiger announced. "By banishing it, I can cut Ccapac Apu's ATK in half until the end of the turn!"

A ghostly version of Sky Dolphin appeared and flew through the sky at top speed. It struck Ccapa Apu in the chest and passed through the giant as though it were made of water.

"Chacu Challhua, purify the land of this evil!" Greiger commanded. "Shining Torpedo Spear!"

The white whale flew full speed at Ccapac Apu and struck the giant with its horn. The giant shattered into bits and Kiryu's life points dropped to 1200.

"There's more!" Greiger continued. "When Chacu Challhua destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to Chacu Challhua's DEF!"

Chacu Challhua struck Kiryu with another beam of light from its horn. Kiryu cried out as his life points dropped to zero. With the duel over, Chacu Challhua vanished and the land returned to normal. Yusei pulled up next to Kiryu. The silver-haired duelist was still catching his breath.

"You okay?" a concerned Yusei asked.

"…Yeah, I think so." Kiryu finally answered after a moment. A look of sanity had returned to his eyes. "I really went out of control, didn't I?"

"You're real lucky I was nearby." Greiger cut in. "Your friends probably would've had a harder time stopping you."

"Thanks for your help." Yusei told him. "But I'd like to know who you are and why you're here."

"Fine, but not here." Greiger replied. "I'm sure the city's security force will be coming here to investigate what happened, and I'd be a lot more comfortable not being seen by them."

"No problem. We can talk at Yusei's." Crow decided.

"I still think it's weird calling that place mine." Yusei admitted.

"Why? What kind of place is it?" Greiger inquired.

"A big two-story mansion with a guesthouse and a pool." Sect answered.

"Who the hell are you guys?" a surprised Greiger asked.

"It's a long story." Yusei sighed.

"Well, whatever. Let's just get the hell out of here." Greiger told them.

* * *

Jack and Carly finally arrived at the location where Carly had detected Carly the duel between Kiryu and Greiger. But by the time they had gotten there, everyone involved was long gone. An irritated Jack and a disappointed Carly stood on the side of the road by the car with the six Fortune Fairies.

"What the hell happened here?" Jack wondered. "Who was dueling?"

"Can you guys find out where whoever was dueling went?" Carly asked the fairies.

"I'm afraid not, Carly." Chee told them. "Whoever it was just dropped off the radar."

"I guess we came all the way out here for nothing." Hu sighed. "Not like I'm surprised though. Let's just go home."

"Darn it!" Carly cursed with a stomp of her right foot.

"Let's just go." Jack decided as he opened the car door. "It's pointless just staying out here."

Carly sighed and got back into the car with the fairies following behind. She had once again missed out on what she was sure was a big scoop.

* * *

Yusei and the others made it back to the mansion without incident. Once everyone had gathered in the drawing room, Greiger was ready to tell his tale.

"I come from a small village in South America." Greiger began. "I'd tell you what it was called, but the fact is it no longer exists. It was destroyed in an explosion half a year ago. I was out on the edge of town when it happened and was caught in the shockwave. But somehow I survived."

"What caused the explosion?" Yusei asked.

"After it happened, I wandered the wreckage looking for survivors." Greiger continued. "But I found no one. Not even any bodies. That's when I met this man. At least I think he was a man. He was riding this horse wrapped up like a mummy and wore armor that made him look like a skeleton. Or at least I think it was just armor."

"The Skeleton Knight!" Yusei realized.

"You know him?" a surprised Greiger asked.

"The guy took away a lot of our friends." Crow explained. "And he's done a lot of other stuff."

"Well this knight told me that if I wanted to find out what happened to my village, I should go to Neo Domino." Greiger explained. "After that he just vanished. It took me a while, but I finally got here. Now I just need to find the answers."

"We'd be glad to help you if you like." Yusei told him. "The Skeleton Knight's our enemy too."

"You seem to be a little more familiar with the guy. And I could probably use all the help I can get." Greiger replied. "Hell, I have no clue where to start looking."

"How are you able to control your Earthbound Immortal?" Raven suddenly asked.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about that." Greiger smirked. "Not long after the explosion, the Immortal I had a connection to, Chacu Challhua, suddenly began to awaken. I was in the state your friend Kiryu was in, or at least pretty close to it. Lucky for me I was found by a hermit named Demak. He had a connection to an Earthbound Immortal too, only he had learned to control it. Demak taught me what he had learned. I'd probably be completely insane right now if it weren't for him."

"Then maybe you can teach what you learned to Kiryu." Raven suggested. "That way he won't go nuts again like he did tonight."

"If there really is a way for me to control this thing, I have to learn." Kiryu requested. "I don't want to be responsible for hurting my friends or anyone else."

"Fine with me." Greiger agreed as he stood up. "But it won't be easy. We'll start first thing in the morning."

* * *

Mikage yawned as she walked through the halls of the Security headquarters. It was almost 2:00 AM and she had been disturbed from her sleep by an urgent phone call. The caller had informed Mikage that he had found a lead on Jack, the first she had gotten in two day. Mikage entered a small basement office to find a scruffy blonde man in a rumpled Security uniform was sitting in front of a computer.

"This had better be good, Jensen." Mikage yawned.

"Sorry to wake you up so late, but I was going through some traffic camera footage from this evening and found this." Jensen explained. "I thought you'd want to see it as soon as possible."

The blue-haired woman looked at the monitor and saw an image of Jack and Carly on the side of the road with Carly's car. Mikage watched as the two got into the car and drove off.

"Were you able to get a license plate number?" a more alert Mikage asked.

"Afraid not. But I am running facial recognition on the girl." Jensen reported. "We should hopefully have something by morning."

"Let me know as soon as you find anything." Mikage ordered. "I want to know exactly who that woman is."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So in this chapter we've seen the first example of a "good" Earthbound Immortal. It took me a while to figure out the effects such a card would have. But so far, the Earthbound Guardians are turning out to be anti-Earthbound Immortal cards.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	10. The Secret's Out

**Author's Note:** This chapter was originally going to be two separate chapters, but it ended up being way too short by the time I had gotten what was originally going to be the end point. Plus it started to feel like the story was getting a little slow.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 9: The Secret's Out

Things had calmed down a great deal the morning after Kiryu's brief descent into madness. Yusei and the others were very glad to have an ally like Grieger to help them fight the Skeleton Knight and help Kiryu keep the darkness of his Earthbound Immortal from taking over. That morning, Greiger took Kiryu out at the crack of dawn to start his training, leaving everyone else at the mansion. Yusei had woken up only an hour or so later. He had ended up spending most of the morning in the garage attempting to tune up his D-Wheel. After about two hours, Yusei decided to take a break and went out for some fresh air.

"Morning Yusei." Crow greeted as he walked up to him on the driveway. "Nice day out, huh?"

"It's pretty quiet out." Yusei agreed. "What are you up to?"

"Well, since Raven went with Sect and the twins to go site seeing, I decided to go out for a ride." Crow explained. "What have you been up to?"

"Just tinkering around." Yusei replied. "Right now, Aki and Bruno are out looking for Jack?"

"Jack! Why the hell do we need him?" Crow protested. "He made it clear when you dueled him that he wants nothing to do with us."

"Like it or not, we need Jack's help." Yusei told him. "And not just against the Skeleton Knight. We have to worry about Z-one too."

"Oh yeah, Aporia's boss from that future." Crow recalled. "Well I still think we can handle both him and the Skeleton Knight without that jerk's help."

"There's one other thing… I don't want to leave things with Jack the way they are now." Yusei admitted.

"Fine, whatever." Crow huffed as he headed for the garage. "I'll be back in an hour."

* * *

As Carly finished getting dresses for the day, her cell phone rang as it sat on the dresser. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID, it was her boss. Carly had been dreading this call. Her editor was most likely calling to know the status of the interview with Jack she was supposed to do. And besides helping Jack sneak out of the hospital, she hadn't lifted a finger to get it.

Seeing no other choice, Carly answered the phone. "Uh, hi chief."

_"Carly, where the hell is that interview?"_ the chief shouted through the phone.

"I'm uh, I'm working on it." Carly half lied. "It's just that Jack has been very hard to find."

_"I don't care!"_ the chief bellowed. _"Either have some kind of story on Atlas on my desk by 7:00 tonight or your fired!"_ With that, the line went dead.

Carly sighed heavily as she put down the phone. She had more or less run out of time and had to make a decision. Her choices were either to tell Jack who she really was and risk losing him, or do nothing and lose her job. Carly didn't like either of those options, but it was either one or the other. And she had come to realize one thing. It wasn't right to keep who she really was from Jack. If she had any hope of what she had with Jack becoming something more, Carly had to tell him the truth.

Once she had finished getting dressed, Carly walked out to the living room. Jack was sitting on the couch watching TV. It was now or never. Carly's heart was pounding. She took a deep breath, but just as she was about to speak there was a loud knock on the door.

"Mind getting that?" Jack requested.

"Sure, no problem." Carly sighed.

She went over to the door, and as soon as Carly opened it a crack it burst open, knocking her to the floor. Mikage barged in just as Carly got back to her feet.

Jack immediately noticed and got to his feet. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Mikage scolded as she put her hands on her hips.

"What are you, my mother?" Jack smirked.

"Excuse me, just who are you and why have you barged into my home?" Carly demanded to know.

"I'm Mr. Atlas' personal assistant, and I've come to get him out of this rat trap you've lured him into!" Mikage told her.

"First of all, I don't see why you're making such a fuss. After all, I'm not champion anymore." Jack pointed out. "And second, Carly didn't lure me anywhere! Coming here was my idea, and I have no intention of leaving!"

"Well then you should probably know the truth about who the girl you're staying with really is." Mikage told him. "She's a reporter, and not a very good one. I'm sure the only reason she's letting you stay here is because she was hoping for some big scoop."

Jack gave Carly a surprised glare. "Is this true?"

"…It is true that I'm actually a reporter." Carly admitted with a big gulp. "And I should've told you that the moment we met, but…"

"So this whole time you've been using me to get your next big story." Jack assumed. "You're just another vulture hoping to catch in on my downfall."

"Jack, that's not true!" Carly insisted on the verge of tears. "I mean… I was supposed to try and get an interview with you. But things changed!"

"Spare me." Jack coldly told her. "You must take me for a fool. I suppose all the things I told you about my past are all going to be in your little report."

"Mr. Atlas. Director Goodwin does want you to come back. You may not be champion anymore, but you're still an important figure." Mikage informed him. "If you'll just come back with me, I'm sure we can figure things out from there."

"…Fine." Jack finally agreed. "There's something I've been meaning to ask Goodwin anyway."

"Jack, wait!" Carly tried to beg, but stopped when Jack glared at her.

"I think we're done here." Jack told her. "This little interview is over."

With that, Jack walked out of the apartment with Mikage. The two of them slammed the door shut as they left. Carly fell to her knees, sobbing.

* * *

It had been a fairly short ride over to the Goodwin mansion. Once there, Jack was escorted to the drawing room to wait for Rex. As he waited, Jack thought about what he had said to Carly before he left. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt guilty. Even if Carly was some cheap reporter, it never once seemed like she was using him to get a story. In all truth, it actually seemed like she really cared about him. And Jack couldn't help but like Carly. There was just something about that girl in glasses that seemed to stir some kind of feeling in Jack that he couldn't quite place his finger on.

"If you ask me, you're better off without that useless wench." A familiar voice spoke, startling Jack. "She was only holding you back."

Jack looked across the room. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed was the dark twin of himself from his dreams. A mocking grin was on the twin's face.

"How are you even here?" Jack demanded to know as he stood up from the couch.

"Since last night, I'm now able to appear outside of your dreams." Dark Jack explained. "And I'm no figment of your imagination, I assure you."

"So what are you then?" Jack asked.

"I've gone by many names throughout the centuries." Dark Jack chuckled. "But for now I prefer to keep my true name a secret. What matters is that my offer from before still stands. You said before to that girl that you didn't want to challenge Yusei until you had the same kind of power he has. I can give you that kind of power. Power that can more than match Yusei's and surpass him ten fold!"

"What's the catch?" Jack asked.

"What makes you think there's a catch?" Dark Jack asked innocently.

"I'm not the fool you take me for. I've made a deal like this once before and got burned." Jack reminded him. "So answer me this, what's in it for you?"

"Let's just say it's been awhile since I've been out and about." Dark Jack replied cryptically. "Anyway, I'll let you think it over for a while longer. I'm sure Goodwin will be here before long. He'd find it odd to see you talking to yourself. I'll be back later."

"Then before you go, at least tell me what I should call you." Jack requested just as his dark twin began to leave the room.

Dark Jack stopped and chuckled. "I suppose that's only fair. For now, just call me the Crimson Devil."

With that, Dark Jack walked out the doorway and vanished. Jack sat back down on the couch and sighed. He couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't starting to lose his mind. It was one thing to see his birthmark light up like a flare and converse with the spirits of Carly's Fortune Fairy cards. He could buy those things, as he wasn't the only one to see them. But a being calling itself the Crimson Devil and offering him power seemed like something else all together.

At last, Rex walked into the room. "Ah, so you've finally decided to return. Welcome home Jack."

"I won't be staying for long." Jack told him as he stood up again. "I only came back for some answers."

"And just what sort of questions do you have?" Rex asked as he went over to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle and a wine glass.

"In our duel, Yusei said that his D-Wheel malfunctioned when I faced him in the Pit." Jack replied. "I want to know, did you have something to do with it?"

Rex chuckled as he poured himself a glass of red wine. "Now Jack, I think the answer to that should be obvious by now."

"So it really was you." Jack realized. "You rigged it so that I'd win that duel!"

"I needed you to become champion." Rex explained. "And I couldn't afford to leave anything to chance against such a strong opponent like Yusei Fudo."

"You had no right to interfere in that duel!" Jack protested. "I could've beaten Yusei back then without you meddling!"

"Spare me your duelist's pride, Jack." Rex indifferently replied. "I made you a champion, that's all that should matter. But then I suppose that your pride has been a serious problem from the beginning. It's little wonder that the people of this city grew tired of you."

"So what, you're saying that you arranged for Yusei to come here and beat me?" Jack asked.

"In the end, he makes for a much more fitting champion." Rex replied. "He's a shining example of someone who lost everything and crawled back out of a hole to get it back. But don't worry, I'm sure I can find a much more suitable role for you."

"I'm through being your puppet!" Jack declared.

"Consider your position Jack. You have nowhere else to go." Rex pointed out. "In fact if it weren't for me, you'd still be rotting down there in the Pit. I advise you to think hard about what you do next."

With that, Rex put down his glass and walked out of the room. Jack clenched his right hand into a fist. He didn't have to think at all about his next move. There was an old friend that he had to see.

* * *

Carly was lying face down on the couch crying her eyes out. The whole situation wasn't fair. Carly had wanted Jack to know the truth about what she was, but not like that. She had wanted to tell Jack herself. And now because of the way things had turned out, she had lost Jack and was about to lose her job. The Fortune Faries had appeared to try and cheer Carly up, but they were having no luck.

"C'mon Carly, cheer up. I'm sure there's a way to make things right." Hikari told her optimistically. Carly only responded with more sobbing.

"Will you give it a rest already, runt?" Ann told Hikari. "Nothing you can say or do will cheer Carly up right now."

"Well at least I'm trying!" Hikari pointed out.

"You know, this was inevitable." Swee remarked as she sipped from a cup of tea. "Even if Carly had told Jack she was a reporter from the start, he probably would've reacted the same way."

"But what's Carly going to do now?" En wondered. "The way things are, she's going to get fired."

Carly only half heard what her six spirit companions were talking about. She was too consumed by heartbreak, not to mention anger. She was angry at that woman who came and took Jack away from her, and at Jack for actually thinking that she was just using him to get a story. As Carly dwelled on that anger, her head suddenly started to feel like it was in a vice. The pain caused her to suddenly cry out, causing the Fortune Fairies to worry. Then Carly felt as if her right arm was on fire, just like it was the night before when she and Jack were trying to track down that duel.

Before long the pain died down, and suddenly something went off in Carly's mind. It was like a switch had suddenly been flipped. It had become very clear what she had to do next. Carly rose from the couch and picked up her glasses.

"Are you okay Carly?" a worried Hikari asked.

"…I know what I have to do now." Carly answered as she put her glasses on. "My boss wants a story on Jack. So I'll give him something much better than an interview. I'll show the whole world the kind of guy Jack really is by finding proof that he really did cheat the first time he dueled Yusei. And I'll find proof that he was put down in the Pit too!"

"I don't know Carly, that doesn't seem very nice." Hikari pointed out.

"Yeah, this doesn't seem like you at all." En agreed.

"Oh can it, you two runts!" Ann told them. "This is the first good idea Carly's had in years."

"I'm not sure if I like this idea either, but we should all try and be supportive of Carly." Chee pointed out. "Remember, her job is on the line right now. We should all do our best to help her."

"Whatever. Jack was kind of a jerk anyway." Hu indifferently replied.

With a plan decided, Carly gathered her things and left the apartment with the fairies. One way or another, she was going to get the scoop of a lifetime.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had originally planned for "Dark Jack" to appear in the story a few more times before this point. There was going to be at least one other dream sequence, but I ended up cutting it because it didn't seem like it really added anything. Anyway, things are going to take a major turn in the next chapter. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	11. Worst Day Ever

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 10: Worst Day Ever

Jack entered the garage of the Goodwin mansion to find that his white D-Wheel had been fully repaired since the duel with Yusei. He also found a male mechanic that seemed to be doing a routine check on the machine. Assuming that Rex wasn't going to let him leave willingly, Jack saw only one course of action. He walked over, tapped the mechanic on the shoulder, and gave him a powerful right cross to the jaw. The hapless mechanic was out cold. Jack opened the garage door and got onto his vehicle. He then took off out of the garage as fast as the machine would go and was on the street in mere moments.

Though Jack didn't have an exact plan about what he was going to do, he knew about one thing that he had to do first. He had to set the record straight with Yusei and make it clear that he had nothing to do with what happened between them down in the Pit. Fortunately Jack knew that Yusei was staying at the Fudo mansion. And his D-Wheel had been equipped with an auto navigation system long ago, so finding the place would be no trouble. Rex had put the system in when Jack had first come to the city in order to make sure that his prized champion wouldn't get lost. With his destination on the screen, Jack headed out towards the mansion.

* * *

Yusei and Crow were talking out in front of the garage just as the others returned from their various trips. Everyone pulled up in front of the garage and dismounted their vehicles.

"Any luck finding Jack?" Yusei asked Aki and Bruno.

"Nope. Bruno had found out which hospital Jack had been taken to but he wasn't there." Aki answered.

"Apparently, Jack had snuck out of the hospital the night he was brought in." Bruno explained. "His injuries weren't that severe, so there shouldn't be any danger to his health. But there's been no trace of Jack since that night."

"So much for that." Crow remarked.

Suddenly as if on cue, Jack's white D-Wheel burst in through the front gate and went up the driveway. The blond deposed king stopped a few feet away from them and dismounted. Yusei immediately approached his old rival as he walked up. The tension in the air was high.

"Nice to see you're well." Yusei greeted. "I was starting to get a little worried."

"I only came here to tell you the truth about what happened down in the Pit." Jack told him. "It was Goodwin who rigged your D-Wheel to malfunction. I had nothing to do with it."

"Why would Goodwin rig our duel?" Yusei asked.

"Because he wanted me to be his pet champion and didn't have faith that I could beat you on my own." Jack explained. "Now if you don't believe me…"

"Relax Jack, I believe you." Yusei assured him. "Goodwin rigging that match makes a lot more sense than you cheating."

"Then in that case, I'm off." Jack decided as he turned to leave.

"Wait Jack, we need your help right now." Yusei told him.

Jack stopped and turned back around. "And just why should I help you and your little friends?"

"Well for one thing, we're all connected whether you like it or not." Yusei explained as he pulled off his glove to show Jack the dragonhead mark on his arm.

Jack took off his own glove to reveal the wing-shaped birthmark he had. "You mean because of these marks?"

"Yeah, and the two of you aren't the only ones who have them." Crow cut in as he walked up with Raven, Aki and the twins.

The redheaded duelist then revealed the tail mark that was on his arms. Aki and the twins revealed their respective marks to Jack as well.

"I'd show you mine, but it's on my back and kind of big." Raven admitted.

"So what are these marks of ours supposed to be, anyway?" Jack asked as he put his glove back on.

"Long story short, we've all been chosen by a being called the Crimson Dragon to protect the world from great evil." Raven explained.

"Do you really expect me to buy that?" Jack scoffed.

"It doesn't matter if you believe us or not. Right now we really do need your help." Yusei told him. "A powerful enemy called the Skeleton Knight has captured a bunch of our friends and we need all the help we can get rescuing them."

"…I'll think it over." Jack replied as he continued back to his D-Wheel. "Right now, I have one or two things to take care of. I'll be in touch." With that, he simply drove off.

"What'd I tell ya? You can't depend on that guy for anything." Crow declared.

"Give him time Crow." Yusei told him.

"If you ask me, we'd probably be better off without your friend." Greiger cut in. "If I'm right, he could be a bigger threat to us that the Skeleton Knight."

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked.

"I sensed something very dark from Jack when he was here." Greiger explained. "I'm sure Kiryu sensed the same thing."

"I did." Kiryu confirmed. "I don't know what it was, but it made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. The mark on my arm felt funny too. It was almost like the Earthbound Immortal I'm linked to was… frightened."

"I got the same feeling from Jack too." Raven admitted. "I don't know how to say this Yusei, but I think Jack has a connection to an Earthbound Immortal."

"How's that possible?" Luna wondered. "Isn't Jack supposed to be a Signer like most of us?"

"He is, yet he's linked to an Earthbound Immortal too." Raven replied. "I can't explain it."

"What's worse is that he's linked to the worst Earthbound Immortal of them all." Greiger revealed.

"So you've heard of that one too." Raven observed.

"Demak told me about it once when I asked him of the Immortals were always evil." Greiger explained.

"What are you guys talking about?" Yusei asked.

"When I told you guys that the Earthbound Immortals were once benevolent entities, I wasn't being entirely truthful." Raven revealed. "There was one that was evil from the beginning. I didn't mention it because I never thought we would face it."

"It's known as the Crimson Devil, and it was the first Earthbound Immortal ever to exist." Greiger continued. "It was born ten-thousand years ago from the hatred and vengeance on the blood-soaked battlefield of an ancient war. And its only purpose was to spread destruction."

"It took the full power of the Crimson Dragon and it six servants to seal the Crimson Devil away." Raven revealed. "In fact that battle almost cost the Crimson Dragon its life."

"So what does that mean for Jack?" an alarmed Yusei asked.

"Realistically, one of two things will happen." Raven answered. "He'll either be consumed by the evil of the Crimson Devil and turn against us, or the power will destroy him."

* * *

Night had fallen upon the city, and Carly took that time to act. She had spent much of the day trying to dig up info on Jack's prison record and found nothing. Not that she was surprised of course. Carly had to assume that Goodwin would sweep a record like that under the rug. With her deadline quickly approaching, Carly had no choice but to try one other place, Rex's office.

Under the cover of night, Carly snuck into the main security building disguised as a cleaning lady. It took her longer than she would've liked to get to Rex's office, which was all the way up on the top floor. By the time she was finally inside, Carly took off her disguise and went straight to Rex's desk. Carly checked her watch. She was seven minutes away from her deadline. Her only hope was that her boss would give her an extension. Though considering how earth-shattering the info she was looking for was, Carly felt sure that she would be given more time.

With no time to lose, Carly began to look through desk drawers. Right away she came upon a couple of file folders. They contained nothing about Jack, but there were some interesting documents concerning the abandoned Momentum Reactor in Satellite and some apparent plans to reactivate it.

"It seems we have a little mouse who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong." A voice suddenly remarked, startling Carly.

The intrepid reporter looked up and was frightened to see the Skeleton Knight standing before her only a few feet away. "Who… what are you?"

"You may call me the Skeleton Knight." The undead duelist replied. "And I'm afraid I have no choice but to eliminate you. For you've seen far too much."

"I didn't see anything! Honest!" Carly denied.

"I'm afraid your credibility isn't very good, my dear." The Skeleton Knight pointed out. "But I am willing to give you a sporting chance."

With a wave of the knight's hand, a duel disk appeared on Carly's left arm. Carly quickly realized what the Skeleton Knight was implying.

"So… we're going to duel." Carly observed. "And if I win… you'll let me go… right?"

"Of course." The knight assured her as he activated his own duel disk. "But if I win, well… it is a long way down from this office."

Carly took a big gulp before taking out her deck. Her Fortune Fairy deck wasn't exactly designed for dueling, but it was all she had. Once she placed her deck in the disk, the life points of both her and her opponent were set to 4000.

"Ladies first." Skeleton Knight offered.

Carly took another big gulp as she drew her first card. She took a good look at her hand and felt that she had a slight chance. "I summon Fortune Fairy Swee in Attack Mode!"

The water elemental of the Fortune Fairy sisters appeared on the battlefield. "Do I really have to take part in this uncivilized event?"

"I don't like this any more than you do Swee, but we don't have much choice." Carly told her.

"Well, well. This might be more amusing than I thought." Skeleton Knight chuckled.

"Next I play a Spell card, Unacceptable Result!" Carly announced, unfazed by the knight's comment. "With this card, I can Special Summon another Fortune Fairy from my hand! Appear now, Fortune Fairy Ann!"

The dark member of the Fortune Faries appeared on the field by Swee. "Finally, we're doing something I like."

"Now I play another Spell card, Luck Lone!" Carly continued. "With this card, I target Fortune Fairy Swee and summoned a Fortune Fairy a level lower! Come out, Fortune Fairy Hu!"

The green-haired wind elemental of the fairies appeared on the field. "Do I really have to be a part of this too?"

"Finally, I activate the Continuous Spell, Miracle Stone!" Carly announced. "With this card, each my fairies gain 1000 ATK for every Fortune Fairy on the field! Mean Swee, Ann, and Hu all gain 3000 ATK!"

A large blue crystal appeared on the field behind the three fairies and bombarded them with a brilliant blue light. All at once, the fairies expanded to several times their normal size.

"That ends my turn!" Carly confidently announced.

"Try and beat that, skull boy." Ann dared.

"Never before have I seen a combo that was so impressive, yet at the same time so… pathetic." Skeleton Knight remarked as he drew a card. "I summoned Skull Spider-Swift Jumper in attack Mode!"

Appearing on the other side of the battlefield was a fairly large blue-grey spider with long nimble yellow legs. A white skull-shaped mark adorned its abdomen.

"When Swift Jumper is summoned to the field, I can Special Summon another Skull Spider from my hand in Defense Mode." The knight revealed. "I now summon the Tuner monster, Skull Spider-Resonance Weaver!"

Appearing next to Swift Jumper was a large black furry tarantula with large red eyes and legs with orange stripes. Adorning its abdomen was a white skull mark like Swift Jumper's.

"Because I have another Skull Spider on the field, I can raise Resonance Weaver's level from two to three." Skeleton Knight announced. "I now tune the level three Resonance Weaver into the level three Swift Jumper for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Resonance Weaver flashed and changed into three rings of purple light. The rings encircled the second spider and converted it into three balls of crackling black energy.

"The threads of blood shall be woven together to create the web of war! Take witness to the ascension of its merciless ruler!" Skeleton Knight chanted. "Synchro Summon! The queen of war vengeance, Skull Spider Queen-Red Empress!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a column of black energy. The energy soon faded to reveal a young-looking woman with six arms, chalk-white skin, and blood-red eyes. Her long dark-red hair was styled into a braided ponytail that was slung over her left shoulder and ended in a sharp silver blade. Her fingernails were all long and bright red, and on each of her arms she wore fingerless red leather gloves that went past her elbows. She had on knee-high high-heeled red leather boots and a short armored skirt. On her torso was a red leather corset with a silver breastplate styled like a pair of fanged skulls. Atop the queen's head was a silver tiara with a red gemstone in the center, and around her neck was a red choker.

"That's one mean-looking monster." Carly admitted. "But she only has 2500 ATK."

"True. But when Red Empress is summoned to the field, she changes the battle positions of all other monsters." Skeleton Knight revealed. "And all three of your little fairies have zero DEF."

Red Empress suddenly launched thick silk ropes from her wrists and snared Swee, Ann, and Hu. The fairies cried out as the spider queen pulled them all to the ground.

"Red Empress is able to attack all monsters my opponent controls." Skeleton Knight revealed. "And each time she destroys a monster in Defense Mode, she deals damage equal to half that monster's ATK."

"But… that means…" a terrified Carly realized.

"This duel is mine." Skeleton Knight confirmed. "Red Empress, destroy this intruder! Venom Daggers!"

The red spider queen threw six silver daggers at the Fortune Fairies, causing them to shatter to bits of light and vanished. The blades continued on and struck Carly, dropping her life points to zero and hurling her through the large window behind her.

As Carly fell to earth, the Skeleton Knight stuck his head out the window. "A pity. But it was her own fault."

With that, the knight vanished in a black mist. As Carly continued to plummet, she kept expecting her life to flash before her eyes. Instead, all she was seeing was Jack. Suddenly her cell phone rang, and in her shock Carly answered it.

_"Carly, I've had it with you!"_ her editor screamed on the other end of the line. _"It's past the deadline, and you've given me squat on Atlas! Consider yourself fired!"_

The line went dead after that. Carly simply let go of her phone, letting it drop to the ground first and shatter to pieces. In that moment she couldn't help but think about how unfair her life was. She had lost Jack, she had just lost her job, and in a few seconds she was about to lose her life. It was all so unfair, and it made her very angry.

"DAMN IT!" Carly cursed at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly a purple mark resembling a hummingbird blazed to life on her right forearm. At the very last second before she was about to hit the ground, Carly was enveloped by a ball of orange light that took off into the air like a shooting star. The sudden takeoff knocked off Carly's glasses, leaving them in front of the door of the building.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Normally it takes me at least two days to write a chapter with a duel in it. The first day I write the outline for the duel, and then write the actually chapter the next. In this case though, since there were only two turns in the whole duel I went ahead and did the whole thing today. Anyway, many of you reading have probably noticed that I listed the genres of this story as romance and humor. The humor aspect is going to kick in next chapter. Things are going to get a little twisted, but hopefully in an amusing way.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	12. Carly's Revenge

**Author's Note:** This chapter was simply a blast to write. I greatly hope that I've depicted Carly's dark side in a way that's it's never been shown before.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 11: Carly's Revenge

Very slowly, Carly began to regain consciousness. Her short-term memory began to replay the events of that night. The last thing Carly remembered was her defeat to the Skeleton Knight, and being hurled through the window of Rex's office. Not to mention the phone call from her boss telling her she had been fired. Carly's memory seemed to end there. She couldn't remember actually hitting the pavement, but she had to assume that she did. So far the afterlife was proving to be a lot darker than Carly had ever imagined. Then she realized her eyes were still closed.

A somewhat familiar voice began to gently call out. "Carly? You awake yet Carly?"

Carly finally opened her eyes. The place she was in looked to be some sort of abandoned building illuminated only by the light of the moon coming in through the large open window in front of her. Carly soon realized she was on the ground sitting against a large wooden crate. Floating directly in front of her was an entity that appeared to be a young woman with short blonde hair and gold eyes. On the sides of her head were two long narrow black bat-like wings, and on each side of her face were two small red triangular marks. Her skin had a yellow tint and glowing through the hair covering her forehead was a large golden eye-like symbol. Her outfit consisted of a pair of black high-heeled boots that went up past her knees and a skimpy black swimsuit-like garment with a two-piece yellow dress with a skirt that was open in front.

It took a moment for Carly to realize just who this young woman was. "Fortune Fairy Hikari?"

"Oh, that's my old name." the duel spirit replied. "I'm called Fortune Lady Light now. I'm glad you're finally awake. Are you feeling okay?"

"What's going on?" a confused Carly asked. "What happened to you?"

"Took you long enough to finally wake up." Another voice complained. "I was starting to get board."

Carly looked to her left to where the voice was coming from. It was another young woman with purple skin and long purple hair. She had a pair of wings on the sides of her head that were like Light's and she wore an almost identical outfit. The only difference was that the dress parts of the outfit were purple instead of yellow. The woman had a red marking on her right cheek and a large purple eye-like symbol shined through the hair covering her forehead.

"Ann?" a surprised Carly asked.

"Get with the program, will ya? I'm Fortune Lady Dark now." The insulted duel spirit informed her. "You must've hit your head when you landed."

"There's no need to be so rude to the poor girl." Another voice cut in. "Especially since she's just been through a horrible ordeal."

Carly looked to her right, and sitting on another crate sipping what looked to be a glass of red wine was another young woman with blue skin and very long blue hair. Like Light and Dark, she had a pair of black wings on the sides of her head and a blue version of the outfit the other two Fortune Ladies were wearing. A single red mark went across her face over the bridge of her nose and a blue eye-like symbol shined on her forehead. Despite the transformation, Carly recognized the duel spirit as Fortune Fairy Swee. Though she quickly realized that the duel spirit probably went by a new name.

"Uh, you're Fortune Lady Water now, right?" Carly guessed.

"Very good Carly." Water confirmed. "You're catching on very well."

Carly looked to Water's right and saw another member of the newly evolved Fortune Ladies lying on her stomach atop a stack of wooden crates with a board expression on her face. She had short green hair and skin, and aside from the head wings and green version of the outfit worn by her sisters, she had two red triangular marks on her cheeks and a green version of the glowing eye symbol that was on the foreheads of the other Fortune Ladies. Carly recognized her as the grown version of Fortune Fairy Hu.

"And you're Fortune Lady Wind, right?" Carly identified.

"Yep." Wind confirmed. "How's it going, Carly?"

"Hey Carly!" a voice called from behind, startling to reporter.

Carly turned around to see the evolved form of Fortune Fairy Hu standing behind her. In addition to the other shared traits of her sisters, her skin was reddish-pink and she had a pair of red fang-shaped marks on her cheeks. Her long red hair was tied into a braided ponytail with a black ribbon at the end.

"Jeez you're skittish." The duel spirit snickered. "The name's Fortune Lady Fire now, by the way."

"Honestly, are you ever going to grow up?" Water complained to Fire as she took another sip from her glass.

"And are you ever going to get that stick out of your ass?" an irritated Fire shot back. "Loosen up, why don't ya?"

"That's quite enough, you two." A voice interrupted.

Carly turned around to see the evolved version of Fortune Fairy Swee approaching. The expression on her face was far sterner than Carly remembered.

"You must be Fortune Lady Earth now." Carly assumed.

"Correct." Earth confirmed as she pushed up her glasses. "Nice to see you awake, Carly."

"What is going on here?" Carly demanded to know. "How is it that the six of you have grown through a major growth spurt all of a sudden?"

"Don't you think there are better questions for you to ask? Like how is it that you survived that fall and ended up here?" Water pointed out. "Or how it is that you can see without your glasses?"

Carly looked at her reflection in a shard of glass that remained on the large window. She really didn't have her glasses on. Yet she could see just as well as if she had them on.

"What the hell is happening?" an overwhelmed Carly wondered. "How is all this possible?"

"It's all thanks to Lady Aslla piscu." Earth explained.

"Who?" Carly asked.

"It turns out that we've had a friend that we didn't know about." Light explained. "One you've always had a connection to. It's because of that connection that you're able to see and hear us."

"And now that she's fully awakened, we've all reached our full potential." Water added.

"So where is this special friend of our?" Carly asked.

"Check your deck and see for yourself." Wind replied.

Carly pulled her deck out of the duel disk that was still on her left arm and began to look through it. In addition to the transformed cards of the Fortune Ladies, there were several new cards had never seen or even heard of before. One of them stood out instantly. It was a high-level effect monster that looked like a strange shadowy hummingbird rising out of a hole in the ground with blue flames. Orange lines adorned parts of its body, and on the side of its head and was visible were three orange circles that seemed to serve as eyes.

"Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu?" Carly read aloud as she looked at the name of the card.

"That's her." Fire confirmed. "And thanks to her, you're not only still alive, we're all powered up."

"That includes you too, Carly." Dark smirked. "So, what do you want to do now?"

It was all a lot for Carly to take in. But as she got over the shock, she noticed that she felt somehow energized. There was some kind of power running through her veins, and whatever it was felt great. Carly felt like she was on top of the world at that moment. And it was then that Carly realized something. All her life she had gotten the short end of the stick. She was always picked on. By her boss, by Angela, and by almost every other kid she knew growing up. But now things had changed. Now she had power.

A grin came to Carly's face. "Alright girls… let's go get some payback."

* * *

Jack drove around the city looking for Carly. Earlier he had gone back to Carly's apartment to try and talk to her. He felt he had to apologize for how he had reacted earlier. But when he got there, Carly wasn't home. The door was unlocked, so Jack went inside to wait for her. After a few hours though, Jack felt a strange sensation running through his left arm. He wasn't sure what it was, but it had given him the feeling that something bad had happened to Carly.

After driving around the city for hours, Jack was having no luck finding where Carly had gone. He didn't even know where to start looking. Eventually Jack saw no other choice but to go to City Security and ask for help. But when he got to the building, he glanced down at the ground on the way through the door and noticed a very familiar pair of glasses. Jack picked them up. There was no mistake. They were Carly's.

Jack suddenly got a very bad feeling. He wasn't sure that asking Security for help was such a good idea. For all he knew, they probably had something to do with Carly's disappearance. Jack rushed back to his D-Wheel and took off. If Carly was going to be found, he was going to have to do it himself.

* * *

After leaving the abandoned building she had been dumped at by Aslla piscu, Carly had found that she was on the outskirts of the city. The night was still young and she had a long walk ahead of her. As Carly crossed the street, she saw a D-Wheel approaching her. It had a single light on the front, and the front wheel was attached to a pair of long silver rods. The rider was a heavy-set man with a thick brown mustache and a black leather jacket. He had a vertical yellow line on his left cheek, indicating a run in with the law, and on his head was a black helmet with a single silver spike on the top. Deciding that having a D-Wheel would be a much better option than walking, Carly decided to see if she could convince the biker to hand it over.

"Come on out, Fortune Lady Earth!" Carly commanded with a grin as she placed Earth's card in her duel disk.

The eldest of the Fortune Lady sisters appeared wielding a sort of scythe-like staff. After twirling the staff above her head with both hands, Earth swung the weapon down and caused a stream of spikes to erupt from the ground and go towards the biker. The biker quickly brought his vehicle to a screeching halt. Carly approached with Earth.

"Apologies, sir. But I'm afraid I must ask you for your vehicle." Earth told the biker. "My mistress requires transportation."

Terrified, the biker screamed and got off his D-Wheel, running away off into the night. Earth vanished after Carly put her card back into her deck. Carly got onto the captured D-Wheel and took off towards the city. She was amazed by how quickly she seemed to get the hang of riding the vehicle.

"Pretty badass ride you found." Dark remarked, as she appeared to fly alongside Carly. "So who're we going after next?"

"First we're going back to my place." Carly replied. "I can't exactly get payback wearing this old outfit."

* * *

Dwayne Peters was a young man with a fairly average life. At the age of twenty-one, he moved from his small hometown to Neo Domino in order to attend a business college. To support himself, he took a part time job as a valet at one of the city's finest eating establishments, the _Gilded Goose_. The hours weren't the best in the world, but the pay was good. And it was an easy job, if not a little mind numbing. Every evening he'd see the same sort of rich snobs with more money than they probably deserved come in to eat and he'd park their cars.

That particular evening was shaping up to be just like all the others. That is until Dwayne saw someone pull up on a D-Wheel. It was a fairly large black and silver model with dual exhaust. The rider was a young woman, a little short but fairly attractive. Her long dark hair ended in sort of a diamond shape. She had on a tattered black hood and cape with a black t-shirt that showed her midriff, a short black skirt, elbow-high black gloves and knee-high black boots. As the young woman dismounted, Dwayne couldn't help but notice that her ash-grey eyes seemed somehow crazed.

"Excuse me, could you park my ride somewhere near the front?" Carly requested with a pleasant smile. "I'm not going to be here long, I'm just meeting a friend."

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing." Dwayne replied as he walked over to the cycle.

"Oh, and if you take that thing for a joyride I'm going to make you regret the day you were ever born." Carly warned, still with a pleasant smile.

Dwayne took a big gulp. He wasn't planning on taking the vehicle for a ride. That wasn't the sort of thing he did. Plus his boss had told him that the guy who had the job before him did that on a regular basis and warned Dwayne that if he were ever caught doing that, it'd be his ass. Still, Dwayne was going to make sure that the D-Wheel wasn't even going to get a scratch. He somehow got the vibe that its owner would make good on her threat.

* * *

Carly looked around the dimly lit restaurant for Angela. She knew for a fact that Angela would come to the _Gilded Goose_ on that particular night of the week with a date. Sure enough, Carly found Angela sitting at a table in the corner with a slender man in a bad suit with dark hair who looked to be in his late forties. Carly recognized the man and smirked. He was the owner of the T.V. station Angela looked at.

The vengeful reporter placed three cards into her duel disk. "Dark! Fire! Wind! Let's tear this place up!"

The three Fortune Ladies appeared and took off into the room, causing the restaurant patrons to panic. Fire cackled as she threw a fireball at the lobster tank, causing the glass to shatter and its entire contents to pour out onto the floor. With a wave of her staff, Wind sent a strong gust through the right side of the room that turned over every table it hit. By then, most of the people ran out past Carly screaming. Before Angela and her date could get away, Dark came over at lightning speed and cut the table down the middle with her staff.

"Don't move, Blondie." Dark told Angela.

Fire came over and saw the hairpiece slip off the head of Angela's date. "Nice rug, dude!"

"Hey Carly, do we need to take Angela's date too?" Wind asked with indifference.

"Nah, he can go." Carly replied as she walked over.

Taking the opportunity, Angela's older date ran off as fast as his legs could carry him. He seemed to completely forget about both Angela and his hair.

"Guess the rumors I heard about you banging your station owner were true." Carly remarked to Angela. "I'm actually not all that surprised."

"Carly, what the hell is this?" a very freaked out Angela asked.

"This is payback, Angela." Carly told her. "Payback for all the times you treated me like trash."

"Hey, let's cut off her head and mount it on your D-Wheel." Fire eagerly suggested to Carly, causing Angela to cringe.

"Not a bad idea, little sis." Dark chuckled.

"Whatever." Wind shrugged.

"Oh no, I want to enjoy this." Carly told them with a wide grin. "We're going to take Angela on a little trip."

* * *

In all the time he had worked at the _Gilded Goose_ as a valet, Dwayne had never before experienced a night like this. He was practically trampled by a stampede of panicked restaurant goers who all went for their keys and got their own cars. Dwayne had absolutely no clue what was going on, but he figured it had to do with the young lady who's D-Wheel he had just parked. He knew from the start that there was something not quite right about her.

Carly came walking out of the restaurant with what looked like a large bag made from on of the establishment's tablecloths. "Excuse me, could you get my D-Wheel? I've got a lot to do tonight."

"No problem." Dwayne replied with a suspicious eye. "What's in the bag?"

"Oh, I couldn't finish dinner and they were out of the normal doggy bags." Carly explained.

"Okay…" Dwayne replied as he went to go get the motorcycle. He stopped when he heard what sounded like a muffled voice coming from the bag. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Carly replied innocently as she kicked the bag with the back of her foot.

Against his better judgment, Dwayne went to go get the D-Wheel. In moments he had pulled the vehicle up to the door.

"Thanks very much." Carly told Dwayne as she mounted the vehicle, placing her large sack on her lap as best she could. "Oh, and if I were you, I'd forget you ever saw me."

Dwayne watched as Carly zoomed out of the parking lot. As she left, he swore he could hear a muffled scream. Dwayne considered calling the cops but decided against it. Whoever that girl was, he didn't want to tick her off. And he felt real sorry for the next poor sucker who did.

* * *

Rex tied the string of his red dressing gown and prepared to settle in for a quiet evening. Jack had once again run off, but it was of little consequence. Just as Rex sat down and was about to continue a book he had started reading, the Skeleton Knight appeared before him.

"What is it?" Rex asked with a sigh.

"A small problem, brother. I caught someone sneaking around your office earlier tonight." The Skeleton Knight explained. "She saw a bit of the plan."

"Did you eliminate her?" Rex asked.

"Of course." The knight replied. "But you might want to call someone in to fix your office window. Not to mention clean up a small mess in front of the building."

Rex frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Why must you always use such brutish methods to get things done? We are trying to be discrete, you know."

"It's nothing that can't be swept under the rug. Especially with the resources at your command." Skeleton Knight pointed out.

"I suppose it doesn't matter." Rex replied as he got up from his chair. "I think it's time we stopped playing around, brother. We must carry out our plan tomorrow."

"Are you sure that wouldn't be rushing things?" Skeleton Knight asked.

"The preparations have already been completed." Rex revealed. "And Yusei and his friends are growing too suspicious."

"The boy does have a lot of his father in him." Skeleton Knight chuckled.

"Perhaps a bit too much." Rex responded. "That's what made him the perfect tool for getting rid of the triad. But I've been starting to think that we should've just let him and his friends die with everyone else on Satellite."

"We owed him something Rex." Skeleton Knight reminded him. "After all that we did, even if it was for the greater good, we still owed that boy something."

"That's been your mistake Rudger. You've been letting your guilt get to you." Rex told him coldly. "We need to let go of the past in order to save the future."

* * *

Carly entered the office of her former editor and chief, Mr. Pitts. Her former boss was busy with paperwork. The only source of light in the room was from the lamp on his desk.

"Hey chief." Carly greeted, causing her former employer to look up from his work.

"Damn it Carly! I told you that you're through here!" Mr. Pitts bellowed. "Now get the hell out of here before I…"

Before Mr. Pitts could finish his threat, Carly placed a card in her duel disk and summed Fortune Lady Dark. The second eldest of the Fortune Ladies quickly moved in and sliced the news editor's desk in half. Mr. Pitts froze in terror.

"Don't move, Fatso. Otherwise I'll take that extra weight of yours off with me blade." Dark warned with a grin.

"Uh, did I say that you were fired Carly?" Mr. Pitts asked in a high voice. "Forget what I said about that. Take all the time you want with that story on Atlas. Take a month for all I care."

"Too late, boss." Carly told him. "I all the time I've worked for you, you've treated me like a glorified assistant, never once giving me a chance. Well I've had it! So now it's time for you to get what you deserve."

"Please don't kill me." Mr. Pitts begged with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you." Carly assured him. "Not yet, anyway. We're all going to have a little party first. Nothing big. Just you, me, that bitch Angela, and the man who broke my heart."

* * *

The hour was growing late, and Jack was having no luck finding Carly. Searching the city on his own wasn't getting him anywhere. He needed help, and there was only one group of people he could turn to. But just as Jack was about to call Yusei, another call came in on the screen. When Jack answered, the screen showed that it was an audio call only.

"Who is this?" Jack demanded to know.

_"Hi Jackie."_ Carly's voice greeted over the line. _"I hoped you'd be out riding tonight. It took me forever to find the frequency for your D-Wheel's COM system."_

"Where the hell have you been?" Jack asked.

_"Just out doing stuff."_ Carly innocently replied. _"If you want to find me, I'm at the place where we had our first date. I'll be waiting for you, darling."_

With that, the line went dead. Jack had no idea what was going on, but he knew that there was something wrong with Carly. The woman he had just spoken to didn't quite sound like the woman he knew. But whatever was going on, Jack knew where Carly was. It was the place that held that little carnival they went to. Jack turned and headed straight for that location as fast as his D-Wheel could go.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Once again, this chapter was an absolute blast to write. I've actually been looking forward to it for most of the story. And if those of you thought this part of the story was nuts, wait until you see the confrontation between Carly and Jack.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	13. A Woman Scorned

**Author's Note:** I had intended to get this chapter finished and put up yesterday, but the outline of the duel turned out to be very frustrating. I apologize for the slight delay.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 12: A Woman Scorned

It took Jack a little longer than he liked to get to the place where Carly had said to meet her. Fortunately at that hour of the night, traffic in the city had greatly thinned. Still, at the time Carly had called, Jack was on the other side of town. So it had still taken him a bit to get there. When Jack had finally gotten to the place where he and Carly had gone to the small carnival, something he saw with a glance caught his attention. Hanging over the water at the end of the boardwalk was a construction crane with something that seemed to be moving at the end. Jack drove over to get a closer look and saw that it was Angela and Mr. Pitts.

"What the bloody hell?" a surprised Jack wondered.

"Please, help us!" Angela begged.

"Get us down!" Mr. Pitts pleaded.

"Hello, darling." A familiar voice greeted. Jack turned his head to see Carly sitting atop her D-Wheel. "I was starting to worry that you might not show up."

"Carly, what the duce is going on here?" Jack demanded to know. "Who are those people tied to the crane?"

"Oh, that's my jerk of an ex-boss and bitch of an archrival." Carly explained. "I thought it was time they got what they deserved. A little later I plan to let them drop into the water. With those heavy chains I put on them, they'll sink like stones. You know I've heard that drowning is a really painful way to die."

"I understand about wanting to get back at people, but don't you think this is a bit overkill?" Jack pointed out.

"…Nah, not really." Carly shrugged. "Actually, those two are getting off pretty easy compared to what I plan to do to you."

"So you want to get back to me as well." Jack observed.

"You walked out on me." Carly reminded him, a hint of rage coming to her face. "We had something good together and you just threw it away!"

"You should've told me that you were a reporter from the start!" Jack argued.

"And would that have made a difference? Would you have still given me the time of day if I had told you from the start that I was a reporter?" Carly asked.

Jack was about to answer, but stopped as soon as he opened his mouth. He had to admit that if Carly had told him that she was a reporter that night she came into his hospital room that night, he would've told her to scram. The last thing he wanted to deal with at that time was some reporter wanting to ask about how he felt about losing his title and finding out he was nothing but a joke.

"I was going to tell you on the day you left." Carly revealed. "I thought that maybe… if you really were the kind of guy I hoped you were… maybe you'd actually understand. But it turned out just like I thought!"

"…So what are you planning to do now?" Jack asked.

"Now I'm going to challenge you to a duel." Carly laughed coldly. "I'm going to crush you like you crushed my heart!"

"You do realize who you're challenging, don't you?" Jack pointed out.

"Yeah, a big blowhard who was nothing but a fake champion." Carly mocked.

Jack was hit by the insult a bit hard. "Fine! I've never been one to turn down a challenge, and I won't start now! You want a duel, you've got one!"

"The track will be from here to our old love-nest." Carly decided. "The first one onto the street gets the first turn."

"Fine!" Jack agreed. "And if I win, you'll let those two people on the crane go!"

"That's a pretty big if, but okay." Carly agreed. "Let's go!"

With that, Jack and Carly took off towards the street. Just as Jack was about to pull ahead, Carly rammed into him from the side and laughed madly as she pulled onto the road first. As soon as Jack hit the street after her, the duel began.

"Track Field, activate! Future Visions!" Carly called. At once, the city became shrouded in a starry purple mist. Carly drew her first card. "I summon Fortune Lady Light in Attack Mode!"

The youngest of the Fortune Lady sisters materialized onto the battlefield. But a split second later she vanished almost as if she was a mirage.

"What just happened?" Jack wondered.

"Because of Future Visions, any monster we summon normally gets sent one turn into the future." Carly explained. "Light will be back at the start of my next turn. But in the meantime, since Light just got removed, I can use her effect to summon another Fortune Lady from my deck. Appear now, Fortune Lady Earth!"

The eldest of the Fortune Ladies appeared in Light's place. "Good evening, Mr. Atlas. It's a pity we have to meet again under such circumstances."

"What the… how can that monster talk?" a surprised Jack asked.

"We've met before." Earth reminded him. "Though my sisters and I have changed a bit since our last encounter."

It took Jack a moment to realize just what Earth was talking about. "Wait a minute! You're one of those little fairies that hang around Carly! What the duce happened to you?"

"I still haven't entirely figured that out either." Carly admitted. "But I don't really mind. By the way, you should know that Earth's ATK is equal to her level time four hundred points. Which means right now her ATK is 2800. I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

Jack looked at his hand and scowled. He had everything he needed to summon Red Dragon Archfiend. But because of Future Visions, his Tuner monster would be sent a turn into the future. He had to buy time. Jack drew his first card and found just the card that might just do the trick.

"Because you control a monster while I have none, I Special Summon Vice Dragon from my hand!" Jack announced.

Materializing alongside Jack was a large dragon with bumpy purple skin. It had three stubby white horns on its head and a pair of rumpled green wings.

"Next I summon the Tuner monster, Dark Resonator!" Jack announced.

The small tuning fork-wielding demon appeared on the field. But a split second later it vanished.

"Oops. Did you forget about the effect of Future Visions Jackie?" Carly mocked. "Looks like your Synchro Summon just got screwed up."

"I set a card on the field and end my turn." Jack announced.

As Carly drew her next card, Light reappeared on the battlefield. "Hi Jack."

"Hmph, so you can talk too." Jack observed with an annoyed expression.

"That's right. And I've got a few things to say to you." Light told him as she put her left hand on her hip. "Do you have any idea how hurt Carly was when you left? She spent hours crying her eyes out on the couch! After everything she did for you, after all the two of you shared, how could you think that she was just using you to get a story? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Jack was struck greatly by Light's words. He had realized earlier that he had overreacted a bit to the revelation of Carly's true occupation. But he had no idea that she had been so hurt. Jack felt guilty, though he wasn't about to let it show.

"I don't need to be lectured by a palm-palm girl like you!" Jack told Light.

"A… palm-palm girl?" Light repeated with an offended expression. "You meanie!"

"Save it Light. Jack knows what he's done." Carly told her. "And I'm going to make him pay for it! Earth!"

"Yes Carly." the Duel Monster nodded. "Because Carly's turn has begun, my level rises from six to seven, increasing my ATK to 3200. Furthermore, each time my level increases, the opponent takes 400 points of damage."

With that, Earth raised her bladed staff and swung it at Jack, sending a blade of orange energy at him. The blade struck Jack on his side, causing his D-Wheel to wobble. His life points dropped slightly to 3600.

"I summon Fortune Lady Wind in Attack Mode!" Carly announced. Wind appeared briefly on the battlefield before vanishing an instant later. "Now Earth, attack Jack's Vice Dragon!"

"My apologies Mr. Atlas, but I must do what Carly commands!" Earth told him as she swung her staff. Dark spikes erupted from the ground and headed for Jack's purple dragon.

"Take your apology and stuff it!" Jack smirked. "I activate my Trap, Widespread Ruin! This card destroys the monster with the highest ATK that my opponent controls!"

A blast of flames shot out from Jack's Trap card, vaporizing the spikes created by the elder Fortune Lady's attack. Earth was quickly caught in the blast and vaporized as well.

"Oh no! Earth!" Light cried out.

"I'll make you pay for that!" Carly declared. "I end my turn!"

As Jack drew his next card, Dark Resonator reappeared on the field. "Because my level three Dark Resonator is back, I now tune it into my level five Vice Dragon for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Dark Resonator clinked his fork against the metal rod he was holding in his other hand, causing him to change into three rings of green light. The rings encircled Vice Dragon and changed it into five balls of white light.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a pillar of fire. The flames soon died down to reveal Jack's red and black dragon.

"Uh-oh. This… doesn't look good." Light observed as she went pale.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Fortune Lady Light!" Jack commanded. "Absolute Power Force!"

The dragon raised its fist and created a massive ball of red flames in its palm. Light screamed and attempted to cover her face with her arms as Red Dragon Archfiend launched its attack.

"I activate my Trap, Fortune Slip!" Carly announced. "By sending Light into the future, I negate your dragon's attack!" At the last second, Light vanished just before Red Dragon's attack hit. "And since Light was sent into the future again, I can summon another Fortune Lady from my deck. Appear now, Fortune Lady Fire!"

Fire materialized in Light's place and raised her hand forward. "BLAMO!"

Suddenly Red Dragon Archfiend exploded in an inferno of red flames. Fire laughed as the inferno struck Jack and almost caused his white D-Wheel to topple over. When the firestorm ended, Jack's life points had fallen to a mere 600.

"What the hell just happened?" Jack demanded to know.

"You just got fried by my effect, that's what?" Fire chuckled. "Because Light's effect summoned me to the field, I was able to destroy your friend, scaleface, and burn you with his ATK."

"So much for you big bad dragon, Jackie." Carly mocked.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn." Jack announced.

As Carly drew her next card, Light and Wind reappeared next to Fire. Wind looked and noticed that Light was still trying to shield herself.

"Hey Light, you okay?" Wind asked.

Light opened one of her eyes and saw that Jack's dragon was gone. "Oh, thank goodness. I was sure Jack's red dragon was going to destroy me."

"You mean you were attacked by that jerk's strongest monster?" an angered Wind asked. "That son of a…!"

"Relax sis, I took care of it." Fire assured her. "That dumb dragon was no match for my effect."

"No one goes after my little sister like that!" Wind declared. "I'm gonna kick Atlas' ass!"

"Take it easy Wind, I'm okay." Light assured her.

"Don't worry, Wind. Jack is going to get what he deserves in the worst way." Carly told her. "Because I have at least one Fortune Lady on the field, I Special Summon the Tuner monster, Time Bending Witch!"

Appearing next to the three Fortune Ladies was what appeared to be a little girl with short pink hair and red eyes. She was wearing a sort of witch's outfit with a large conical hat with a large brim and a large gold clock on the front and a long cloak that was closed in the front. The purple material of the outfit sparkled as if it showed the stars.

"Good idea, Carly." Fire praised.

"I don't know. That seems a little extreme." Light remarked.

"As long as it hands Atlas his ass, who cares?" Wind pointed out. "Just get it over with Carly."

"What's going on?" Jack demanded to know.

"I activate the effect of Time Bending Witch!" Carly announced. "Once per turn, I can change her level to any number from one to seven. So now I raise her level from one to two!"

The child witch suddenly seemed to glow with a pink aura and began to change. After a moment, the aura faded and Carly's witch looked as if she had grown just a little older.

"I now tune the level two Time Bending Witch into the level two Fortune Lady Fire, the level one Fortune Lady Light, and the level three Fortune Lady Wind for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

The clock on the witch's hat flashed and she soon changed into two rings made of pink light. The rings encircled all three Fortune Ladies, transforming all three into six balls of white light.

"The stars of fate change here and now! Reveal the dark path to the world beyond!" Carly chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear before us, Witch Queen of the Netherworld!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a massive column of red light. The light soon faded to reveal to reveal a young-looking woman with chalk-white skin and black eyes with pink irises. She had on a black skin-tight bodysuit with black and silver armor covering the front of her torso. On her hands she wore a pair of silver gloves that went half way up her forearms, and on her feet she wore a pair of silver knee-high high-heeled boots. The haunting woman also wore a sparkling black hood and cloak that seemed to show the stars. The woman's long blonde hair poured down from the hood, and in her right hand she carried a scythe with a silver handle and a black blade.

"And now, my dear Jack." Carly spoke with a mad grin. "Time for you to die."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Having Carly use Future Visions made outlining the duel very tricky. I had to figure out how Jack was going to pull off summoning Red Dragon Archfiend for one thing. But I seemed to make it work in the end. The actual chapter itself turned out to be quite fun to write. It was nice having monsters that interacted with the opponent instead of just hovering on the field. I also ended up giving Carly her own Synchro monster. It was so unfair that she was the only Dark Signer in the anime not to get one. Heck, even Misty's Reptilian monsters got one or two Synchro monsters, even though they were never used in the anime.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	14. Burning Soul

**Author's Note:** I don't know what it is about this story that keeps causing it to get delayed. Yesterday my town had a power outage that lasted the entire morning. And after it was over I was too stressed to do any writing because of some personal stuff that happened during the blackout. But enough about me. On with the thrilling conclusion to Jack and Carly's duel.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 13: Burning Soul

"With so little of your life points left, I could've just attacked you directly with Fire and brought this duel to an end." Carly remarked. "But that would be letting you off easy. I want you to suffer, my dear Jack. And my Witch Queen of the Netherworld has 2800 ATK, more than enough power to destroy you in an instant. Witch Queen, attack Jack directly!"

"You won't get the chance!" Jack interrupted. "Activate Trap, Fiendish Chain! This card not only stops your witch from attacking, it negates her effects as well!"

Just as Carly's Witch Queen was about to raise her scythe to attack, a long chain covered in blue flames shot out of Jack's Trap card. The chain swiftly wrapped around the Witch Queen's midsection and bound her arms.

"Fine! You may have bought yourself another turn, but next time your finished!" Carly angrily declared. "I end my turn."

Jack drew his next card and looked at his hand. All he had was a pair of Tuner monsters, nothing that he could use to turn the duel around. He did have a card set on the field that he could use to bring back Red Dragon Archfiend and take out the Witch Queen, but the card would only bring back the dragon for one turn. After that, he would be wide open to an attack. And with his life points so low, Jack knew that even Carly's weaker monsters could take him out in one hit. Jack had landed himself if a pretty bad situation, and there didn't seem to be anyway out.

"Seems you're in quite a bind." A familiar voice remarked. Jack looked to his right and saw Dark Jack hovering alongside him with an arrogant grin. "Care to reconsider my offer?"

"Oh, it's you again." Jack replied with an annoyed expression. "I don't have time to deal with you right now, so scram!"

"I think it would be in your best interests to make time for me. After all, it's not like you have a lot of options right now." Dark Jack pointed out. "You know it's actually rather amusing that the pathetic wench who took you in turned out to be able to call upon a being with powers similar to my own. Only her dark guardian is an insect compared to me."

"What are you talking about?" Jack demanded to know. "Just what the hell are you?"

"Hey Jack! Do you mind getting on with our duel already?" an annoyed Carly requested. "Quit talking to yourself and make your move so I can kill you!"

"See what I mean? That pathetic girl doesn't even have to power to perceive my existence." Dark Jack chuckled. "With my power you'll be able to crush her easily. And not just her, you'll be able to annihilate Yusei and any other fool who would oppose you! You'd be a true king! A god! All you have to do is accept my offer and this world can be yours to rule or destroy!"

"Look Crimson Devil, or whatever your name is, I'm not agreeing to any sort of deal until you tell me exactly what you are!" Jack told him.

"Fair enough." Dark Jack agreed. "I suppose if we are going to be working together you have a right to know that. I am a being that has existed for ten thousand years. I am the power to destroy whole armies and make gods cower in fear! I am destruction and chaos itself! I am… Red Nova!"

"…The power to make gods cower in fear, eh?" Jack chuckled sarcastically. "Do you really expect me to buy that?"

"You're going to have to take a leap of faith and trust me." Dark Jack replied. "You don't have any other options at the moment. Join with me. Let me handle things and I'll get you out of this duel."

"What about Carly?" Jack asked. "What happens to her?"

"What difference does that make?" Dark Jack chuckled. "If she dies, than so be it. That girl is worthless anyway. Just let me run the show and I'll take care of everything."

Something seemed to go off in Jack's mind when the demon said that it didn't matter if Carly lived or died. It mattered to Jack a great deal. Sure Carly was trying to kill him at the moment, but he still cared about her. And the fact that Dark Jack thought that Carly was insignificant really ticked Jack off.

"…Just who the hell do you think you are?" Jack told the demon. "How dare you treat Carly like she was nothing?"

"Excuse me?" Dark Jack replied with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly Jack cried out and his body suddenly produced a flaming red aura, startling the demon. His eyes began to glow red and the mark on his arm blazed to life.

The hummingbird mark on Carly's arm began to glow as well. "Hey! What's going on here?"

"What are you doing?" Dark Jack demanded to know.

"I swore that I would never be used by anyone again! Not by Goodwin, and certainly not by you!" Jack told him. "I'll take your damn power, but we're going to be doing things my way!"

* * *

The hour had grown late as Yusei and Aki stood out on the balcony of the Fudo mansion looking up at the night sky. Just as the two of them were about to head inside for the evening, both of their dragon marks suddenly blazed to life. But they were shining brighter than they ever had before. The pain was so intense that Yusei and Aki both nearly dropped to their knees.

"Yusei, what's going on?" a concerned Aki asked.

"I… don't know." Yusei replied through gritted teeth. "But… I think Jack has something to do with it somehow."

At that moment, Greiger staggered onto the balcony with his own whale mark glowing bright. "Yusei. I think Red Nova is finally awakening. It's the only thing that explains what's going on."

"If you're right, than what does that mean for Jack?" Yusei asked.

"Probably nothing good." Greiger grimly assumed. "But right now I'm a little more concerned by what this means for the rest of the world."

* * *

Rex shot up in bed. His sleep had been disturbed by a painful burning sensation on his back. Rex got out of bed and walked over to the mirror. He turned his back to the mirror to see his large condor-shaped mark glowing like a star. Never before had the silver haired man felt such terrible power. He could tell that the Earthbound Immortal was terrified by something.

_"Brother!"_ the Skeleton Knight's voice called out inside his head. _"Are you sensing the same thing that I am?"_

"I am." Rex replied. "I never imagined that such a terrifying power could exist."

_"What do we do?"_ Skeleton Knight asked telepathically.

"I don't know." Rex answered. "But this power could prove to be a threat to our plans."

* * *

"Because my opponent controls a Synchro monster, I can Special Summon Synclone Resonator from my hand!" Jack announced.

Appearing on the battlefield was a monster that looked similar to Dark Resonator wearing purple robes and a green frilled collar. The banner that hung on the front of his chest bore a red and blue spade. On its back were two large blades, one yellow and one green. Together they formed the shape of a large spade.

"I now activate my Trap, Archfiend's Roar! With this card I bring Red Dragon Archfiend back from the Graveyard for one turn!" Jack announced. The dragon reappeared on the field from a burst of black flames. "Now, since I control a Synchro monster, I Special Summon Creation Resonator from my hand!"

Another Resonator monster materialized onto the track. This one wore mostly blue robes, and adorning the banner on its chest was a gold symbol shaped like an inverted S. On the demon's back was a large silver fan with four blue blades and powder-blue wings at its base.

"What are you doing?" Dark Jack demanded to know.

"I tune the level three Creation Resonator and the level one Synclone Resonator into the level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Jack announced.

The two Resonator demons clinked their tuning forks, and together they became four rings made of red flames. The rings encircled Red Dragon Archfiend and formed a spherical cocoon of fire. At the same time, ropes of crimson fire shot out of the mark of Jack's arm and latched onto Dark Jack.

"Wait! No! No! NOOOOOO!" Dark Jack cried out before turning into flames and getting sucked into the mark. An instant later, a fiery card appeared in Jack's right hand.

"The King and The Devil, here and now, shall become as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! Come forth, Red Nova Dragon!"

The ball of flames that had enveloped Red Dragon Archfiend exploded and a new dragon emerged from the fire. This new dragon was larger and was mainly bright red and dark black. On his back were four very large blade-like wings. Blade-like spikes ran down the length of his back, and the end of its tail resembled a large axe. On the back of the dragon's head was a large horn that went straight back, while on the sides of his head were two smaller horns that curved forward. On the front of the dragon's chest was a small blue diamond.

"What kind of dragon is that supposed to be?" a shocked Carly wondered.

"Red Nova Dragon gains 500 extra ATK for every Tuner monster I have in my Graveyard." Jack explained. "Right now I have Dark Resonator, Synclone Resonator, and Creation Resonator in the Graveyard. Which means Red Nova's ATK goes up from 3500 to 5000!"

"Wait, what?" Carly asked with disbelief.

"Red Nova Dragon, attack Witch Queen of the Netherworld!" Jack commanded. "Burning Soul!"

Red Nova roared and became covered in flames. An expression of terror was on the Witch Queen's face as the demon dragon flew into her at full speed, shattering her into bits of black energy. Red Nova's attack continued and the dragon flew into Carly, knocking her D-Wheel into the air and dropping her life points to 1800. Just when it looked like Carly was about to crash, Red Nova came back around and gently set her D-Wheel back onto the road, allowing the duel to continue.

"Are you all right?" Jack asked Carly.

"None of your damn business!" Carly shot back. "What do you care anyway?"

"Carly… I'm sorry about what happened." Jack spoke. "When I found out that you were a reporter I overreacted. I know you're not the kind of person who would exploit me like that."

"Yeah right!" Carly scoffed. "Like I'm supposed to believe that?"

"I'm not lying to you!" Jack insisted. "I actually feel bad about what happened!"

"Save it!" Carly told him. "Even if I did believe you… it's too late now. I activate my face down Spell card, Fires of Doomsday! With this card, I summon two Doomsday Tokens to the field!"

Appearing alongside Carly were two small demons made out of black flames. Each only had one eye and tendril-like arms.

"Fine then. I end my turn." Jack announced.

"Good. That means I can activate one of the effects of Witch Queen of the Netherworld." Carly grinned. "During the end of a turn when my Witch Queen is sent to the Graveyard, I can banish her to add an Earthbound Immortal to my hand!"

A card with a black aura popped out of the middle of Carly's deck. Jack had a feeling that there was something strange about that card. And whatever it was had to be responsible for Carly's behavior somehow.

Carly drew her next card. "I now sacrifice my two Doomsday Tokens to summon the monster I just added to my hand! Arise, Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu!"

The two fire demons exploded and a pillar of orange light shot up from the ground. The light soon faded to reveal a massive shadowy hummingbird with orange lines marking its body.

"Because of Future Visions, Aslla piscu gets sent a turn into the future. And when she leaves the field by a way other than her own effect, she destroys all my opponent's monsters and inflicts 800 points of damage for each one!" Carly revealed. "Game over, Jackie!"

Just as the giant bird began to fade from the battlefield, she shrieked and stabbed down at Red Nova Dragon with her beak, creating a massive explosion. Carly began to laugh madly at her victory, but her laughter was quickly cut short. When the smoke cleared, Red Nova was still on the battlefield and Jack's life points were untouched.

"Hey, what the…?" a stunned Carly began to ask.

"Nice move, but Red Nova Dragon can't be destroyed by my opponent's card effects." Jack explained.

"Uh… you know Jack, maybe we should talk this out." Carly suggested.

"Since you seem to be out of moves, I'm starting my turn!" Jack decided as he drew another card. "This ends now! Red Nova Dragon, attack Carly directly! Burning Soul!"

Red Nova roared and became shrouded in flames. The dragon flew into Carly at full speed, knocking her off her D-Wheel and bringing her life points to zero. With the duel finally at an end, the surrounding city returned to normal and Jack's demon dragon vanished. Jack brought his D-Wheel to a stop and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Carly seemed to be okay. As he dismounted, he noticed that they had ended up in front of Carly's apartment building.

Jack walked over and offered Carly a hand. "Are you hurt?"

"Get away from me!" Carly spat as she slapped his hand away. "I don't need your help."

"The hell you don't!" Jack told her as he suddenly picked her up.

"Hey! Put me down!" Carly ordered as she began hitting him with the sides of her fists. Jack was unfazed as he began carrying her to the door of the building. "I said put me down!"

Annoyed, Jack pinned her up against the wall. "Will you cut that the hell out?"

"I said let me go!" Carly ordered again as she continued to struggle. "Why the hell are you doing this?"

"Because I care about you, you stupid girl!" Jack told her, nearly shouting.

Carly continued to struggle, and in the heat of the moment Jack suddenly kissed her on the mouth. Carly responded by kissing back and jamming her tongue in. With their mouths still locked, the smaller reporter put her arms around Jack's neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. Jack responded by carrying her into the building. It seemed that the night was far from over.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The biggest challenge during the outline stage of the duel was how Jack was going to summon Red Nova Dragon. Because of Future Visions, normal summoning even one of the Tuners was out of the question. But I took another look at all the Resonator monsters and discovered the anime only Synclone Resonator, and the problem was solved. My one regret was that I didn't get to show off the full power of Carly's Synchro monsters. But then this won't be her only duel.

I hope nobody minds the ending of this chapter. Going in, I wasn't sure how everyone might react. But I decided to take a chance anyway. So by all means, please review and let me know what you think. And stay tuned for the next chapter.


	15. Everybody Hates a Clown

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad everyone seemed to like how I ended it. I'd also like to apologize for yet another delay in updating this story. I had intended to have this chapter up yesterday, but I ended up getting sick over the weekend. I'm starting to think this story is jinxed somehow.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 14: Everybody Hates a Clown

The night had grown calm once again. The disturbance that had caused the marks of the Signers to burn so intensely had ceased not long after it had begun. Yusei and the others weren't sure just what had happened. From Greiger and Raven's reactions, it had seemed like the feared Crimson Devil they had spoken of before had started to awaken. Yet everything was still peaceful. If such a demon had awakened, the city most likely would've erupted into chaos of a supernatural kind. But everything was still normal.

The only thing that Yusei and the others were sure of was that Jack was somehow involved. Despite the late hour, most of the group decided to go search for Jack to find out just what happened. Leo and Luna stayed at the mansion, as it was far too late for them to be out of bed. Crow and Raven stayed behind as well, as the earlier disturbance had hit Raven so bad that she had thrown up that evening's dinner. The rest of the group searched the city in three teams, with Bruno and Sect taking one part of the city, Kiryu and Greiger taking a second, and Yusei and Aki taking the remaining part. Yusei and Aki made it to the boardwalk where Jack and Carly's duel had begun.

"Help! Someone!" a female voice called, getting the couple's attention.

Yusei and Aki drove their D-Wheels towards the voice. When they arrived, they found Angela and Mr. Pitts still dangling from the construction crane Carly had hung them from. Acting quickly, Yusei went over to the crane, switched it on, and gently lowered the two captives to the ground. Afterwards, he came back over with a pair of bolt cutters that happened to be lying around and freed the two from their bonds.

"Are you two okay?" Aki asked them. "What happened?"

"That psycho bitch Carly, that's what!" Angela complained. "She was going to kill us!"

"Who's Carly?" Yusei asked.

"This girl who used to work for me. Not much of a reporter." Mr. Pitts explained. "I fired her, and I guess that's why she did all this."

"We'd be dead right now if she hadn't been saving us for last." Angela added. "She wanted to deal with Jack Atlas first."

"Jack was here?" a surprised Yusei asked. "Where'd he and this Carly go?"

"They started a Turbo Duel and took off towards the other end of the city." Mr. Pitts answered. "Don't ask me where they went. I'm getting out of here before I get into this any deeper!"

"Me too! I'm so out if here!" Angela agreed as the two of them stormed off.

"Well they were a big help." Aki sarcastically remarked. "A little gratitude would've been nice at least."

"We better tell the others that we've got a lead on Jack." Yusei decided as he went over to his D-Wheel.

"Say, wasn't that woman that one TV reporter?" Aki asked. "Angela something, I think."

"Oh yeah, I guess it was." Yusei replied as he pressed a few buttons on the consol. In moments, images of Greiger, Kiryu, Sect, and Bruno appeared on the screen. "Hey guys, Aki and I just got a lead on Jack. He was dueling some girl named Carly."

_"That might explain the other Earthbound Immortal Kiryu and I sensed towards the end of whatever that was."_ Greiger theorized. _"Whoever he was dueling probably had a connection to it."_

"Well it looks like that connection was driving this Carly off the deep end, just like what happened to Kiryu." Yusei assumed. "She was planning to kill a couple people when Jack showed up. One was her old boss, who fired her. The other was that reporter, Angela someone. Don't know what grudge she had against her."

_"Wait, you mean Angela Rains?"_ Sect asked. _"Tell me something man, was she as hot in person as she is on the screen?"_

"I didn't notice." Yusei replied.

_"Yusei, do you know where those two went?"_ Kiryu asked.

"Not a clue." Yusei answered.

_"I can run a search to see if I can find out where this girl, Carly, is living."_ Bruno suggested. _"There's a chance they might be at that location."_

"That sounds like a good idea." Yusei agreed. "In the meantime, it's pretty late. We should probably all call it a night and head back."

_"Sounds good. We'll see you back at the house."_ Kiryu replied before the screen went dark.

"So, you really didn't notice how attractive that Angela woman was." Aki observed as she and Yusei mounted their D-Wheels.

"I guess I didn't take the time to look." Yusei shrugged. "Why, was she really that good-looking?"

"She was okay, I guess." Aki shrugged. "…You have noticed how I look though, right?"

"Of course! You beautiful Aki." Yusei assured her.

"But you didn't notice how Angela looked." Aki replied.

"No, why?" Yusei asked.

"Oh, no reason." Aki smirked. "Let's get going."

"Yeah, okay." Yusei agreed with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

Crow turned his head to look at the clock on the nightstand. It read 4:12 AM. If he was going to do what he had been planning to do, the time was now. As quietly as he could, Crow got out of bed, being careful not to disturb Raven. In moments, Crow was fully dressed and began tiptoeing to the door.

"Stop right there, Crow!" Raven spoke, just as Crow reached for the doorknob, causing him to freeze.

Crow slowly turned his head to see Raven sitting up in bed with her arms crossed. "Raven, honey. I was just… stepping out to get a glass of water."

"You got fully dressed just for that?" Raven asked in a very skeptical tone.

"…Fine, I was going to sneak out and break into Goodwin's office." Crow admitted. "I figured I might find a clue there to what's really going on."

"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what would happen if you were caught?" Raven pointed out. "They'd probably throw you in the Pit this time! And you have more than enough of those marks on your face!"

"Hey, remember who you're talking to here." Crow smugly reminded her.

"Oh, I know who I'm talking to alright. But… you do have a good point." Raven admitted with a sigh. "So I'm at least going to go with you to make sure nothing bad happens."

"Are you nuts?" Crow told her. "After what happened tonight, you're in no condition to come with!"

"I'm feeling a lot better now that I've had some sleep." Raven assured him. "Now I'm going with you and that's final!"

Crow sighed heavily. He knew there was no way he was going to win that argument. "Fine, let's go."

Within a few minutes, the couple had gotten their D-Wheels from the garage and headed out to Goodwin's office. It was a fairly short and quiet drive out to the building. Crow and Raven arrived to find the place practically empty. It was a simple matter for Crow to pick the lock to the main door. He was after all a practiced hand at that sort of thing. After a short elevator ride up, the two had made it up to Rex's office. The first thing they noticed was the large hole that had been broken through the window.

"Whoa! What the hell happened here?" Crow wondered.

"It looks like something was thrown through the window." Raven deduced. "Though it doesn't look like anything's missing from the office."

"Oh dear, it seems we have a few more uninvited guests here tonight." A familiar voice interrupted. Crow and Raven looked to see Jaeger walking out of the darkness of the room.

"Yeesh! It's Goodwin's creepy little minion!" Crow observed.

"The name is Jaeger." The clown reminded him as he cleared his throat. "And I'm afraid that the two of you have landed yourselves in some very deep trouble. It's fortunate that Director Goodwin called me in to keep an eye on his office after it was broken into this evening. Though not very fortunate for you, I'm afraid. I'm going to see to it that you're both thrown to the very bottom of the Pit."

"Fat chance, clown boy!" Crow declared.

"Oh really. And just how do you intend to stop me?" Jaeger grinned.

Crow glanced down at his own duel disk and smirked. "Hey clown, you ever duel much?"

"And what if I do?" Jaeger asked.

"How 'bout this, you and I have a duel right here and now." Crow proposed. "You win, you can take us in. But if I win, you not only let us go, you tell us what we want to know."

"Interesting. It has been awhile since I've enjoyed a leisurely duel." Jaeger admitted. "Alright Crow. I accept your challenge."

Suddenly Jaeger produced a duel disk and placed it on his left arm. The two duelists took their positions in the room while Raven remained by the door to watch. Once Crow and Jaeger drew their opening hands, the duel started.

"I'll start things off." Jaeger announced as he drew his first card. "I summon Fiendish Clown-Tricko the Sneak in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on the battlefield was a short clown with a spherical torso, yellow eyes, and an insane fanged gin. It had short orange hair and atop its head was a very small top hat. Its outfit consisted of a pink and blue polka-dotted jacket with an oversized green bowtie, along with green and yellow vertical striped pants and oversized black shoes.

"Great, another creepy clown." Crow observed with a look of disgust.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Jaeger announced.

Crow drew his first card. "First I summon Blackwing-Mistral the Silver Shield in Attack Mode!"

Materializing to land on Crow's side of the field was a fairly large black bird with a very large silver mask covering its head. The mask gave the bird and almost shield-like appearance.

"Next, because I have a Blackwing monster on the field, I summon Blackwing-Bora the Spear!" Crow announced. The lance-wielding bird warrior landed on the field. "Now I tune the level two Mistral into the level four Bora for a level six Synchro Summon!"

Mistral flashed orange and turned into two rings of green light. The rings surrounded Bora and converted him into four balls of white light.

"Swirling dark winds become the storm to tear through all barriers!" Crow chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Blackwing Armed Wing!"

The lights flashed and became a new warrior with black-feathered wings clad in black armor. On his head was a large mass of orange feathers that went back like hair, and in his hands was a rifle with a bayonet.

"Armed Wing's ATK is 2300, making him three-hundred points stronger than that creepy clown you played." Crow pointed out. "But when Armed Wing attacks, he not only gains 500 ATK during the battle, he also inflicts battle damage!"

"Impressive." Jaeger admitted. "Too bad you won't be able to use that power. I activate my Trap, Cotton Candy Cannon!"

Suddenly appearing Jaeger's side of the battlefield was a large death ray-like weapon mounted on a red rotating turret. The primary part of the weapon was shaped almost like a football and was yellow and covered with green polka dots. Two red cables came out of the back of the device and went down to the base, while the end of the ray was a glowing ball that shot out a crackling beam of pink energy. The energy hit Armed Wing, causing the bird warrior to spin around at a fast speed. When Armed Wing finally stopped spinning, his head was still visible, but his body was encased in a cotton candy cocoon. With its target hit, Jaeger's cannon vanished.

"What the hell just happened?" Crow asked.

"My Cotton Candy Cannon has just prevented your monster from being able to attack at all." Jaeger explained. "Further more, Armed Wing's ATK is now cut in half."

"Dang it!" Crow cursed. "Fine, I'll end my turn."

Jaeger chuckled as he drew his next card. "I activate the effect of Tricko the Sneak! By sacrificing Tricko, I can summon two more copies of him from my deck in Defense Mode!"

Tricko suddenly began to giggle madly as his body expanded like a balloon. In moments the clown's body exploded, showing the battlefield in confetti. Two identical duplicates of the clown had appeared in the original Tricko's place, giggling with insane glee.

"Oh man, that is not right!" Crow declared.

"Then I have a feeling you're not going to like this next move." Jaeger grinned. "I sacrifice my two new monsters to summon Fiendish Clown-Crusho the Strong!"

The two clown monsters shattered into confetti and a whirlwind appeared on the field. The wind died down to reveal a muscular creature that looked to be about nine feet tall. The fangs protruding from the creature's jaw made it look like a cross between a clown and an ogre. The clown was shirtless and wore green overalls with yellow polka dots, and a pair of oversized red shoes. It had small tufts of blue hair on the sides of its head and wore a red beanie with a propeller. In its hand the creature held an oversized yellow mallet with a red star on the face of the head.

"Yeesh! That's the grossest monster I've ever seen!" Crow exclaimed.

"Crusho, attack Armed Wing!" Jaeger commanded. "Big Top Hammer!"

The giant clown lumbered forward and raised its hammer to strike. The giant mallet came down on Armed Wing, crushing him flat. Crow's life points dropped down to 2250. When Crusho raised its hammer though, Bora had appeared in Armed Wing's place.

"Hey! What the…?" Crow began to ask.

"When Crusho destroys a Synchro monster, I can summon one of the materials used for it to my opponent's side of the battlefield." Jaeger explained. "And when I use this effect, Crusho gets a second attack this turn."

"Crud!" Crow exclaimed.

"Crusho, attack Bora the Spear!" Jaeger commanded. "Big Top Hammer!"

Crusho raised its mallet one more time and swung it down hard on Bora. The bird warrior was crushed flat and Crow's life points dropped again to 1350.

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Jaeger announced.

"Hang in there, Crow!" Raven called.

"I'm trying, but this creepy clown and his freak show monsters are throwing me off!" Crow replied.

"Yeah, they are creepy." Raven admitted. "But just focus on the duel, okay?"

"Clearly you simpletons have no appreciation for the noble art of clowning." Jaeger huffed.

Crow took a deep breath and drew his next card. He looked at what he just drew and smirked. "I activate the Spell card, Cards for Black Feathers! By discarding a Blackwing monster, I can draw two more cards!"

"Seems you've gotten your second wind." Jaeger observed. "All right then, show me what you've got."

"Because I have no monsters, I summon Blackwing-Sirocco the Dawn!" Crow announced. The black-feathered bird warrior appeared on the field. "Next, since I have a Blackwing monster on the field, I summon the Tuner monster, Blackwing-Gale the Whirlwind!" Crow's green-headed bird creature appeared on the field next to Sirocco. "I now tune the level three Gale into the level five Sirocco for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Gale became three rings of green light and encircled Sirocco. Sirocco in turn became five balls of white light.

"Darkened gales become the wings that soar from resolved hope!" Crow chanted. "Synchro Summon! Soar, Black-Winged Dragon!"

The lights flashed and became a twister of black wind. The twister subsided to reveal a large black-feathered dragon with the head of a bird. It had large wings and six grey almost insect-like legs.

"Impressive." Jaeger complimented.

"I'm not done yet." Crow continued. "I set one card on the field. But then I return that card to my hand to summon the card I discarded for Cards for Black Feathers in Defense Mode, Blackwing-Zephyros the Elite!"

Appearing on the battlefield was a warrior clad in blue with orange-brown armor and large black-feathered wings. On his head he wore a bird mask with long blue feathers and a white face that had a long beak.

"When Zephyros is summoned, I take 400 points of damage." Crow revealed. "But thanks to Black-Winged Dragon, that damage is negated and Black-Winged Dragon gets a Black Feather Counter that reduces its ATK by 700."

"What's the point of that move?" Jaeger asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I set a card back on the field, which causes Zephyros to be destroyed." Crow announced. Zephyros shattered to bits as soon as the large card appeared on the field. "But by returning the card I just set to my hand, Zephros comes back to the field in Defense Mode." Zephyros reappeared on the battlefield in a kneeling position, and at the same time the feathers of Crow's dragon had started to glow red. "And because Zephyros returned to the field, Black-Winged Dragon gains another counter and loses another 700 ATK."

"I still don't see the point of this maneuver." Jaeger told him.

"You'll see." Crow grinned. "By the time this combo's finished, this duel will be over."

Crow destroyed Zephyros three more times, and three more times he summoned it back to the field. By the time he stopped, Black-Winged Dragon's ATK had dropped to zero and almost all the feathers on its wings were glowing.

"Now I activate Black-Winged Dragon's effect!" Crow announced. "By removing all his Black Feather Counters, I can decrease the ATK of an opponent's monster by 700 points for each one. And my opponent takes the same amount of damage!"

The dragon's wings stopped glowing and it opened its large yellow beak. Black-Winged Dragon fired a blast of pitch-black energy at Crusho the Strong.

"Ah, an impressive combo. Too bad it's going to fail!" Jaeger chuckled. "I activate my Trap, Funhouse Mirror!"

A split second before the black blast struck the clown ogre, a mirror with a wavy surface appeared in front of Crusho and blocked it. The mirror absorbed the energy and glowed with a brilliant white light. It shattered to reveal that Crusho's muscles had grown to twice their original size.

"What the hell?" Crow exclaimed.

"When one of my Fiendish Clowns is targeted by an effect that would reduce its ATK, Funhouse Mirror lets me negate the effect and have my clown gain the same amount of ATK it would've lost." Jaeger explained. "Furthermore, the damage I would've taken is also reversed. Meaning I now have 6800 life points."

"Say what?" Crow exclaimed.

"A valiant effort, my dear Crow." Jaeger chuckled. "But I'm afraid I'm going to clip your wings in this duel."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I ended up using the anime effects of Cards for Black Feathers and Zephyros, rather than their real world effects. It was the only way to make the duel work. As for Jaeger, I ended up giving him a deck of my own creation rather than having him use his cards from the anime or manga. I took a little inspiration from the horrible 80s movie, _Killer Klowns from Outer Space_ when it came to Jaeger's cards. Though I have been rereading the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga lately, so a little inspiration might've come from there as well.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	16. Shining Heart

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

* * *

Chapter 15: Shining Heart

"Thanks to the reversed effect of your Black-Winged Dragon, Crusho's ATK has gone from 2600 to 5400, making him far stronger than your little dragon." Jaeger taunted. "Looks like your little combo backfired."

"Damn it!" Crow cursed. "I end my turn."

"Which unfortunately means that Crusho is no more." Jaeger revealed. The clown ogre suddenly shattered apart like glass and vanished. "The downside of Funhouse Mirror is that it destroys the monster it's used on. Fortunately I have a monster far more powerful than Crusho at my disposal." He drew his next card and grinned. "I summon Fiendish Clown-Necro the Ghoul!"

Appearing on the battlefield was a very slender frail-looking clown wearing a black bodysuit with red polka dots and a frilled red collar and a pair of oversized red shoes. The hair hanging from the sides of his baldhead was long, grey, and stringy and the fangs protruding from his mouth were yellow with age. In his right hand, the clown held a knarred wooden staff with a white skull on top.

"When Necro the Ghoul is summon to the field, I can return a Fiendish Clown monster from my Graveyard to my hand." Jaeger explained. "So I'll use his effect to bring Crusho back."

Jaeger's clown necromancer laughed evilly as he tapped the ground with the end of his staff twice. A ghostly green version of Crusho then erupted from the mouth of the skull atop Necro's staff, giggling madly as it returned to Jaeger's hand.

"You mean I have to deal with that thing again?" Crow asked with a shudder.

"Don't be silly." Jaeger chuckled. "Crusho was just the opening act. Now the time has come for the main event! I activate a Ritual Spell, Phantasmal Circus!"

Suddenly appearing in the middle of Jaeger's side of the field was a large pedestal, the kind usually seen in the center ring of a circus. It was black and red, with the colors being divided by a jagged line.

"To price of admission for Phantasmal Circus are monsters who's level add up to at least eight." Jaeger explained. "Fortunately the combined levels of Crusho and Necro more than add up to the needed cost. So I now offer them both up to Ritual Summon Fiendish Clown King-Phantasmo the Great!"

Crusho suddenly reappeared on the field and somersaulted onto the pedestal that had been created by Jaeger's Spell card. Necro then somersaulted onto the top of Crusho. The two clowns then vanished in a flash of pink smoke. In their place was a much larger clown with long gangly arms. He stood like a chimp and wore a red and black outfit like a court jester's. Like the other clowns, the clown king had a large red nose. The left side of his face was pitch black and had a silver millennium eye in place of a normal one. There was no mouth visible on that side of his face, but the right side showed a grinning mouth with sharp yellow fangs. The eye on the white side of the clown king's face was blood red.

"Wait a minute. You went through all that to summon a monster with just a thousand ATK?" a surprised Crow observed.

"There's more to this game than just ATK points, my dear Crow." Jaeger chuckled. "Phantasmo, attack Black-Winged Dragon! Nightmare Shadow Puppet!"

After twisting his head in a very unnatural way, Phantasmo brought his two clawed hands together to make the look like a fanged mouth. A massive black shadow in the form of a monstrous head burst forth from the hands and devoured Black-Winged Dragon in an instant. When it was over, Crow's life points had fallen to 350.

"What… just happened?" a stunned Crow wondered.

"When Phantasmo the Great battles a Synchro monster, it gains that monster's ATK during the battle." Jaeger explained. "This effect applies even when Phantasmo is being attacked by a Synchro monster. Which means that someone like you who uses Synchro monsters is powerless against him!"

"Crud!" Crow cursed.

"I'll set a card on the field and end my turn." Jaeger announced.

Crow looked at his hand and scowled. There wasn't anything in his hand that could help take down the clown king. He could attack with Zephyros, but Crow was sure that Jaeger had set a Trap for it. It seemed like he didn't have any options left.

"Don't give up Crow!" Raven called. "There's still a way for you to win! Someone like you with a heart that shines with hope can always find a way to win!"

_"A Shining Heart?"_ Crow thought to himself with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't be ridiculous." Jaeger scoffed. "There's no way that either of you can get out of this. Victory is as good as mine."

"Like hell!" Crow denied. "Raven's right. Things may look bad for me right now, but there's no way I'll ever lose to a freak like you!"

Suddenly the dragon mark on Crow's arm lit up. At the same time, the top card of Crow's deck began to shine with a crimson light. As soon as Crow drew the card, the light faded to reveal a card that Crow had never seen before. It was a Spell card that showed an open silver chest containing a single black feather. Carved into the lid of the chest was the seal of the Crimson Dragon.

"I activate a Spell card, Black Feather Preparation!" Crow announced. "By banishing Gale the Whirlwind from my Graveyard, I can add a certain pair of cards from my deck to my hand!"

A ghostly image of Gale briefly appeared on the battlefield before flying off into the distance. An instant later, two red glowing cards popped out of the center of Crow's deck. The cards stopped glowing as soon as Crow added them to his hand.

"Looks like you're not the only one with a Ritual monster, you creep." Crow smirked. "I activate a Ritual Spell, Rite of Black Feathers!"

Appearing on the battlefield was an ornate silver torch that had yet to be lit. Carved into the front of the torch's head was the seal of the Crimson Dragon.

"Normally, I'd have to sacrifice a monster from my hand or the field with a level of four or more. But Rite of Black Feathers also lets me banish a Blackwing monster from my Graveyard to use as the whole tribute instead." Crow explained. "So I'll banish Mistral the Silver Shield to summon Blackwing-Flare the Dragon Star Priest!"

Mistral reappeared on the battlefield, only to explode into a mass of black feathers. One of the feathers landed in the torch, igniting into a red flame. The flame expanded and shot onto the battlefield. In moments the fire cleared to reveal a well-muscled man with tan skin clothed in white robes. He had long orange hair, and atop his head was a large headdress in the shape of a black bird. On his back was a pair of black-feathered wings, and painted on his face were red marks like the yellow marks on Crow's cheeks.

"When Flare the Dragon Star Priest is summoned, I can negate the effects of an opponent's monster until the end of the turn!" Crow revealed. "And of course the monster I choose is that creepy clown king of yours!"

The Dragon Star Priest raised his hands forward and shot Phantasmo with a ball of red light. The seal of the Crimson Dragon appeared where the projectile struck, and the clown began to crackle with red electricity.

"Now I activate another of Flare's effects!" Crow announced. "Once per turn, I can summon a Dark Synchro monster from my Graveyard. And the monster I choose to summon is Black-Winged Dragon!" Flare clapped his hands together and Crow's dragon reappeared in a burst of black flames. "Of course because Black-Winged Dragon was summoned by Flare's effect, his ATK is now zero."

"Then what was the point of that move?" Jaeger asked with a quirked brow.

"Well you see Flare the Dragon Star Priest isn't just a Ritual monster. He's also a Tuner!" Crow revealed.

"What! A Ritual Tuner?" Jaeger exclaimed.

"I tune the level four Flare into the level eight Black-Winged Dragon for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Crow announced.

Flare clapped his hands together again and changed into four rings of crimson fire. The rings expanded and encircled Black-Winged Dragon.

"Pitch-black winds gather now and become a storm of justice!" Crow chanted. "Primal Synchro! Take off, Blackhawk Dragon!"

The rings of fire shrank and enclosed around Black-Winged Dragon, causing him to explode into a pillar of black flames. The flames died down to reveal a much larger dragon. The new dragon had four legs and much of its body was covered in black feathers. Its legs were silver and ended in large talons and its bird-like head had a silver beak. On the front of its chest it had a red diamond-shaped gem, and its tail ended in a silver blade that resembled the tail of the Crimson Dragon.

"Impressive… but I'm afraid you've sealed your doom!" Jaeger laughed. "I activate my Trap, Balloon Mine!" Suddenly appearing in the center of the battlefield was a balloon in the image of a clown's head. "When my opponent Synchro Summons in the presence of a Fiendish Clown or Fiendish Clown King, my opponent takes damage equal to that monster's ATK!"

The balloon began to laugh madly and suddenly expanded rapidly. Just when it looked like it was going to fill the entire room, the balloon exploded in a flash of fire and smoke. But when the smoke cleared, Crow's life points were untouched. The gem on Blackhawk Dragon's chest was glowing with a crimson light.

"What! What happened?" Jaeger demanded to know. "How did you escape my Trap?"

"Because Blackhawk Dragon is on the field, any effect damage either of us would take is negated." Crow explained. "Instead, that damage gets added to Blackhawk Dragon's ATK. And thanks to your Trap, his ATK has just doubled to 6600!"

"What!" Jaeger exclaimed.

"I'm not done! I set one card on the field, which causes Zphyros the Elite to be destroyed!" Crow announced. Zephyros shattered into bits of light. "Then by returning that card to my hand, I can summon Zephyros back to the field!" Zephyros then reappeared in a kneeling position and the gem on Blackhawk Dragon's chest glowed brighter. "And of course the 400 points of damage I would've taken is added to Blackhawk Dragon's ATK, making it 7000!"

"You're joking, right?" a horrified Jaeger asked.

"I'll set one card back on the field to destroy Zephyros, then send it back to my hand to summon Zephyros back to the field!" Crow announced. Zephyros shattered and reappeared, causing Blackhawk Dragon's gemstone to glow even brighter. "I set the same card and destroy Zehpyros again, and send that card back to my hand and summon him back to the field!" The bird warrior shattered and reappeared once more, causing the gem of Crow's dragon to glow brighter than before. "You know what come next, clown. Your clown king is about to be fried!"

Suddenly Jaeger burst out laughing. "Fool! Did you forget that Phantasmo gains the ATK of any Synchro monster it battles?"

"Did you forget that Flare the Dragon Star Priest negated Phantasmo's effects this turn?" Crow reminded him.

"…Oh…" Jaeger suddenly realized.

"Blackhawk Dragon, attack Phantasmo the Great!" Crow commanded. "Ebony Flare!"

Blackhawk Dragon opened his beak and hit Phantasmo with a massive blast of pitch-black flames. Jaeger was struck by the blast as well and his life points crashed from 6800 to zero. With the duel over, Crow's monsters vanished from the room.

"Now, time for you to tell us what we came here to find out." Crow reminded Jaeger as he advanced on him.

"Oh… of course." The clown replied with a frightened smile. "Well about that."

Suddenly Jaeger threw a smoke bomb and quickly ran out of the office. Just as the smoke started to clear, Crow and Raven ran out of the office in hopes of catching the little clown. On the way out of the door, they heard the sound of a face being struck by a hard moving object. When the couple got to the hallway, they found Greiger standing over an unconscious Jaeger.

"Hey Greiger." Crow greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"I decided to try and snoop around Goodwin's office to try and find out something about the Skeleton Knight or what happened to my village." Greiger explained. "Then I saw this little… whatever he is, running out of the office."

"Wow, Raven and I came here for the same thing." Crow explained. "I guess great minds think alike, huh?"

"The two of you can pat each other on the back later." Raven told them. "Right now we should get out of here before anyone else shows up."

"Right. We'll take that creepy little clown with us." Crow decided. "He should be able to tell us what we want to know."

* * *

Morning had come to the Fudo mansion, and everyone accept the twins had gathered in the drawing room. Jaeger was tied to a small wooden chair in the center of the room.

"Let me go this instant!" Jaeger insisted.

"We will as soon as you tell us what we want to know." Yusei calmly told him. "What's Goodwin really up to? And how are the Skeleton Knight and Greiger's village involved?"

"I'm not saying a word." Jaeger replied.

"Talk, you little worm! Or else I'll stomp you so flat they'll have to scrape you off the bottom of my shoe!" Greiger threatened as he picked Jaeger up by the collar, chair and all.

"Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!" a frightened Jaeger complied. "The village you speak of was destroyed for a test! Director Goodwin wanted to know what would happen if the old Momentum Reactor in Satellite was reactivated!"

"What!" Yusei exclaimed.

"Yusei, if that reactor was to be turned on…" Bruno began.

"I know." Yusei nodded with a grim expression.

"Why, what would happen if that reactor was turned back on?" Aki asked.

"That reactor is what caused the Zero Reverse that created Satellite." Yusei reminded everyone. "If it were to be turned back on, it'd go critical like before."

"But then that would mean all of Satellite would be destroyed!" a horrified Crow realized.

"Why is Goodwin trying to turn the old reactor back on?" Yusei asked Jaeger.

"I don't know, I swear!" Jaeger whimpered. "And I don't know anything about a Skeleton Knight either! Please don't kill me!"

"We've gotten all we can out of this guy." Greiger decided as he dropped Jaeger to the ground.

"So now what?" Sect wondered. "How're we gonna stop Goodwin from wasting all of Satellite and find the Skeleton Knight?"

"I think the only thing to do now is confront Goodwin directly." Yusei decided.

Before the discussion could continue any further, the sound of the mansion's doorbell rang throughout the entire house. Yusei left the room to go answer the door. When he opened it, he found Mikage standing on the other side.

"Mr. Fudo, I'm Mikage, Jack Atlas' personal assistant." The bluenette greeted with a stern expression. "Currently Mr. Atlas is missing. I was wondering if he ended up coming here."

"Sorry, but Jack's not here." Yusei informed her. "The only clue we have is that he might be with some girl named Carly."

"You mean he's gone back to that… that _woman_?" an angered Mikage asked.

"Do you know where this Carly is?" Yusei asked.

"Of course I do!" Mikage answered. "And I'm going to go back there to get Mr. Atlas back!"

"Do you mind if a few of us come with?" Yusei requested. "There's something we need Jack's help with."

* * *

**Author's Note:** In the manga, Jaeger used a Ritual monster that was also anti-Synchro. But as I mentioned before, I decided that he'd use a new set. So I came up with Ritual monster that kind of had a similar effect. Just my way of trying to bring Ritual monsters back.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	17. The Darkness Moves

**Author's Note:** I'm not really having the best week so far, and it doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon. So I'm not sure when the next update is going to be this week. Heck, I almost didn't get this chapter up today. Anyway, the opening scene for this chapter is one that I've had envisioned for this story for quite some time, but I'm still not really sure about it. So I hope everyone keeps an open mind.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Darkness Moves

Carly was busy preparing a large if not somewhat meager breakfast. Her hair was a little messed up, and the only thing she had on besides her glasses and an oversized black sweatshirt that went down past her waist was a large grin. There were parts of the previous night after her duel with the Skeleton Knight that were a total blank to Carly. She remembered the Fortune Fairies evolving and dueling Jack. And of course what she and Jack ended up doing when they ended up back at her apartment. Beyond that though, she recalled nothing. And quite frankly, Carly didn't care at the moment. Though there was one question that had been nagging at her since she woke up.

"Good morning." A very familiar voice greeted. Carly turned to see Jack walking into the room wearing his usual pair of pants and a white buttoned up shirt that was a bit open in the front.

"Oh, good morning." Carly greeted back. As Jack sat down at the table, Carly noticed what looked like red scratch marks on Jack's chest peaking through the shirt. "Uh, I guess things got a little rough last night."

"Don't be." Jack told her with a small smirk as he took a sip from the cup of coffee Carly had set out for him.

Carly sat down at the table near Jack. "So… where exactly do we stand?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I mean… was last night it, or is there something more?" Carly explained.

Jack put down his cup and looked Carly straight in the eye. "I've never met any girl like you before. And while I don't know where any of this is going either, I am sure of one thing." He suddenly pulled Carly in closer. "I really am in love with you."

"Oh Jack." Carly smiled as her face went red. Just as the two of them were about to kiss, a loud knock came at the door. Carly scowled. "I'll get it." She walked over and opened the door. Sanding on the other side was Mikage with her arms crossed. "Oh god, not you again!"

Mikage stormed past Carl into the room. Yusei, Aki, Sect, Kiryu, and Greiger followed close behind.

An amused smirk came to Jack's face as he saw them walk in. "Well Yusei, I certainly never expected you to find me here. I'm guessing Mikkage brought you with."

"Jack, we need your help." Yusei began seriously.

"Dude, are those scratch marks?" Sect asked, noticing the marks on Jack's chest.

"So what if they are?" Jack asked indifferently.

"Were you in a fight or something?" Kiryu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Something." Jack smirked.

Carly walked back over, wrapped her arms around Jack's shoulders, and kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly the implication of what happened to Jack the previous night became clear. Yusei and Aki exchanged somewhat wide-eyed looks.

"So… does that mean the two of you…?" a shocked Mikage began to ask.

"What does it look like?" Carly replied with a triumphant grin.

"Can, uh… can I use your bathroom?" Mikage requested on the verge of tears. Carly pointed her thumb in the direction of where the room was. "Thank you."

Mikage walked into the bathroom as quickly as she could and locked the door behind her. Just as Yusei opened his mouth to speak, loud sobbing suddenly came from the room. It stopped for a moment, only to start up again a moment later. The sobbing went on for what seemed like five minutes before it finally stopped.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with her?" Jack wondered.

"Are you really that clueless?" Aki asked.

"Look Jack, there is something you should know about Carly." Kiryu cut in. "She's connected to a very dark power, and Earthbound Immortal. And if that power goes out of control, she'll be consumed by it."

"Last night she ended up tying two people to a crane and was preparing to kill them." Yusei added.

"Oh, is that what I did last night?" Carly tried to recall. "You know I do remember something about breaking up Angela's date, now that I think about it."

"I already know about all that." Jack informed the group. "You don't have to worry about Carly, believe me."

"It does look like she's in control." Greiger admitted.

"Look Jack, this stuff with Carly aside, we could really use your help right now." Yusei told him. "Goodwin is planning to destroy Satellite."

"Yeah, and he could be working with that jerk, the Skeleton Knight too!" Sect added.

"Wait, the Skeleton Knight?" Carly asked.

"Have you heard of him?" Yusei asked.

Carly's expression turned serious as she removed her glasses. "I'm going with you guys. Give me a few minutes to get changed."

As Carly walked out of the room, Mikage emerged from the bathroom. Her eyes were red and bloodshot. "Um, if anyone doesn't need me, I'll… be heading home now."

"You okay?" Aki asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Mikage replied. "I'm just going to go lie down, rethink my life… maybe clean out all the ice cream in my freezer. Goodbye."

After Mikage exited the apartment, Yusei turned back to Jack. "Jack, we could really use your help right now. Goodwin is planning to destroy Satellite."

"Why on earth does Goodwin want to do that?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. All we know for sure is that he's planning to reactivate the old Momentum Reactor." Yusei explained. "If that happens, everything on Satellite will be destroyed, including the orphanage where we grew up."

After a moment, Jack finally stood up from his chair. "Fine, I'll help you. I've got a few things to settle with Goodwin anyway."

* * *

It was proving to be another dull patrol for security officer, Tetsu Ushio. Crime seemed to be at an all time low. Even litterbugs were scarce. It was at times like these that Ushio missed his old beat in Satellite. Sure the city was safer, but Satellite was where all the action was. Back there, Ushio would usually bust a person at least once a day. He cursed that city council and the Infinity Triad had decided to use an automated security force in Satellite. Meanwhile the human security force had all been transferred to the city.

Still, his beat in Neo Domino wasn't too bad. The only thing that had been bothering him recently was the city's new champion. Ushio didn't care that Yusei was the long lost son of the man who invented the Momentum Recator, or that his girlfriend was the daughter of some dead senator. All Ushio knew was that Yusei was from Satellite, and that he was marked. Which meant nothing but bad news. He didn't know what kind of trick this Yusei kid pulled to get into the city and duel Jack, but he was going to try and keep an eye on him. Ushio was sure it was only a matter of time before Yusei did something illegal, and he would be there to bust him when he did.

As Ushio turned the corner down an alley, a cold fog suddenly rolled in. It was a strange fog, especially since before there hadn't even been a cloud in the sky. As Ushio brought his D-Wheel to a stop, the fog cleared somewhat to reveal the Skeleton Knight sitting atop his undead steed.

"What the hell?" Ushio exclaimed.

"Good day, officer." The Skeleton Knight greeted. "I was wondering if you could give me some assistance."

"I don't know who or what the hell you are, but you look suspicious! Get off the horse now!" Ushio ordered.

"Please officer, there's no need to get anxious." The Skeleton Knight assured him.

Unbeknownst to Ushio, a small black spider dangled down from a silk thread and headed straight for the back of Ushio's neck. In moments the spider landed and bit down hard. Afterwards, Ushio's mind went blank and his arms went limp.

"Now then, my puppet. Let's get to work." Skeleton Knight decided.

* * *

Yusei and the others headed straight for the Goodwin mansion on their D-Wheels. Carly had dressed in the same black outfit she had worn last night. As they neared the intersection, Yusei saw a Security D-Wheel heading towards them with its siren blazing. The rider was a muscular man with a large vertical scar on his cheek.

"Damn!" Yusei cursed. "Looks like we have to pull over."

"Wait a minute!" Kiryu told him. "Something's wrong. I think that might be the Skeleton Knight."

"What? Are you sure?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, I can sense the dark energy coming from him." Kiryu replied. "He's probably using that officer like a puppet, just like he did with Bandit."

Yusei looked closer as the guard came nearer. His eyes were black with purple irises, and a purple spider-shaped mark was burning on his arm.

"Hello Yusei. It's been a while." The Skeleton Knight greeted through Ushio as he pulled up to ride alongside them. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you. But I'm afraid I can't let you and your friends proceed any further."

"Yusei! Let me handle this!" Kiryu requested. "You and the others just worry about getting to Goodwin's!"

"Are you sure?" Yusei asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Kiryu assured him. "Besides, it's time I put what I learned from Greiger into practice."

"Okay, be careful." Yusei agreed.

"Good luck Kiryu." Greiger told him.

"Thanks." Kiryu nodded. "Okay Skeleton Knight, let's do this!"

"If you insist." Ushio grinned.

The two of them broke off from the rest of the group as they neared the intersection. Yusei and the others continued towards the Goodwin mansion, while Kiryu and Ushio headed onto the highway. Kiryu made it onto the highway first.

"Track Field, activate! Infernity Wasteland!" Kiryu called out. The city immediately transformed into a vast desert under a burning sun. "I summon Infernity Archfiend in Defense Mode!" Kiryu's redheaded grey demon in blue robes materialized on the battlefield. "Next I activate the Continuous Spell, Wave-Motion Inferno! By sending Wave-Motion Inferno to the Graveyard, I can discard my entire hand!" The large Spell card that Kiryu played shattered as soon as it appeared. "That ends my turn!"

"Impressive first move." Ushio remarked as he drew his first card. "I summon Skull Spider-Savage Wolf in Attack Mode!" The Skeleton Knight's large grey wolf spider appeared on the battlefield. "Savage Wolf, attack Infernity Archfiend! Predatory Fang!"

Savage Wolf jumped in and tackled Kiryu's demon to the ground. With a bite of the spider's fangs, Infernity Archfiend shattered into bits of light.

"I'm sure you remember Savage Wolf's effect from our last duel." Ushio grinned. "When it destroys a monster in Defense Mode, it deals damage equal to that monster's ATK!"

On cue, Savage Wolf Sprayed Kiryu with a green acid from its mouth. The strike dropped Kiryu's life points from 4000 to 2200.

"Because you destroyed Infernity Archfiend in battle, I'm able to summon Infernity Avenger from the Graveyard!" Kiryu announced.

Appearing alongside Kiryu was a creature that looked like a sort of scarecrow. It had a single white head with red eyes and a large mouth in place of a torso. Atop that head was a tattered black hat. In each hand it held onto a large pistol.

"Infernity Avenger's level increases by the level of the monster that was destroyed." Kiryu revealed. "Which means his level goes up from one to five."

"Very well. I'll end my turn there." Ushio announced.

"I activate the effect of Infernity Wasteland and add an Infernity monster to my hand instead of conducting my normal draw!" Kiryu announced. "Next I summon Infernity Knight!" Kiryu's black knight appeared next to Infernity Avenger. "I now tune the level five Infernity Avenger into the level three Infernity Knight for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Infernity Avenger fired his pistols into the air before turning into five rings of green light. The rings encircled Infernity Knight and changed him into three balls of white light.

"When the curtain of darkness descends down, the eyes of the underworld will open! Swoop down, darkness!" Kiryu chanted. "Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Hundred Eyes Dragon!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a pillar of black energy. The energy soon faded to reveal Kiryu's eye-covered dragon of the underworld.

"Not exactly what I was expecting." Ushio remarked. "After last time, I would've thought you'd play it safe and summon Void Ogre Dragon."

"I don't need to play it safe!" Kiryu declared. "I don't know what kind of game it is you've been trying to play with me, but before this duel's over, I'll show you my real power!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Out of all the duels I've written, both for this trilogy and a couple of other Yu-Gi-Oh! related stories I've worked on, Kiryu's duels have been the hardest to write. It's been a challenge figuring out how he's going to empty his hand in the first few turns. Anyway, I hope I didn't go too far in the first scene with the implication of what went on between Jack and Carly. If I did, it's easily edited.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	18. Something To Fight For

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 17: Something To Fight For

"You're true power, eh?" Ushio chuckled. "Fine. I'd like to see that. Defeat me with the so-called power of yours."

"You asked for it! I activate the effect of Hundred Eyes Dragon!" Kiryu announced. "By banishing Infernity Archer from my Graveyard, Hundred Eyes Dragon gains its effect to attack directly until the end of the turn!"

Appearing on the field was the ghostly form of a large archer covered in black armor. It was quickly sucked into the central eye on the chest of Kiryu's dragon.

"Hundred Eyes Dragon, attack him directly!" Kiryu demanded. "Infinity Sight Stream!"

The dark dragon reared back its head and blasted Ushio with a stream of purple light. But just before the attack could hit, a small light-blue spider with very long silver legs appeared in front of the blast. The spider sucked in the energy and its skull-marked abdomen grew to five times its original size.

"What just happened?" a surprised Kiryu wondered.

"Because you attacked me directly, I was able to summon Skull Spider-Damage Sucker to negate the attack." Ushio explained. "Furthermore, Damage Sucker's ATK becomes equal to the damage I would've taken. Which means right now its ATK is equal to your dragon's!"

"Damn!" Kiryu cursed. "I end my turn."

"This is what you get for recklessly rushing in." Ushio remarked as he drew his card. "You made the same mistake as Crow when he faced me in Satellite. So eager to strike me down that you don't take the time to think that perhaps I've set a trap. Ah, to be young and hot-blooded again."

"Just make your move!" Kiryu told him.

"Very well." Ushio replied. "I summon the Tuner monster, Skull Spider-Resonance Weaver!" The skull-marked black and orange tarantula materialized on the battlefield. "I now activate Resonance Weaver's effect and raise its level from two to three! Now I tune the level three Resonance Weaver into the level one Damage Sucker and level four Savage Wolf for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

Resonance Weaver changed into three rings of purple light that encircled the other two spiders. Savage Wolf and Damage Sucker quickly transformed into five balls of crackling black energy.

"The threads of darkness shall be woven together to create the web of pain! Take witness to the ascension of its solitary ruler!" Skeleton Knight chanted. "Synchro Summon! The queen of pain and death, Skull Spider Queen-Black Widow!"

The dark lights exploded into a massive pillar of black energy. The energy quickly dissipated to reveal the six-armed raven-haired spider queen that Kiryu had fought the last time he had dueled the Skeleton Knight controlled Bandit.

"I now activate Black Widow's effect and change Hundred Eyes Dragon to Defense Mode!" Ushio announced. The spider queen snared Kiryu's dragon with her webs and pulled it off its feet. "Black Widow, destroy Hundred Eyes Dragon! Web of Pain!"

Black Widow electrocuted the dragon with crackling black energy from the webs that still bound it. In moments Hundred Eyes Dragon shattered to bits.

"I'm sure you remember that when Black Widow destroys a monster in battle, she deals damage equal to half that monster's DEF." Ushio reminded him.

The spider queen struck Kiryu with a silken whip from her upper right wrist. The lash reduced his life points to 950. At the same time, a card popped out near the bottom of Kiryu's deck.

"Since Hundred Eyes Dragon was just destroyed, I can add Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu to my hand." Kiryu calmly announced as he took the card.

"I'll set a card on the field and end my turn." Ushio announced. "You seem more accepting of your Earthbound Immortal. Perhaps you've finally realized how easier things will be for you once you give into its power."

"I'll never give into the darkness of my Immortal, and certainly not to you!" Kiryu declared.

"Come now, Kiryu. It'd be much easier on everyone if you just cooperated." Ushio told him. "Believe it or not, you have a promising place in the new world order."

"What are you talking about?" Kiryu asked.

"You and your friends already know part of what's going on from the Infinity Triad, or rather Aporia." Ushio reminded him. "The one called Z-one is planning to destroy this city and all who live here in order to prevent the human race from being destroyed. But we have found a better way."

"We? So you really are working with Goodwin!" Kiryu quickly realized.

"Very good. I knew you and the others would figure that out." Ushio grinned. "Rex and I plan to eliminate Z-one and guide the human race to a more perfect future, one where everyone will play a role."

"And just what role do you have planned for me in this grand plan of yours?" Kiryu asked.

"You would be an enforcer, one who would eradicate any disorder that may lurk." Ushio answered. "It is the life that you always wanted! I've kept my eye on you for a long time, Kiryu. I know that you live to fight others in order to satisfy a need for battle. I'm offering you a place where you can fulfill that need. All you need to do is give in to the power fate has given you."

"…There was a time when what you said was true." Kiryu admitted. "Back when I ran Team Satisfaction, I lived to fight the other Duel Gangs just for the thrill. Because that thrill filled a void that was inside me. But now I'm fighting for something else much bigger than that! I'm fighting for my friends!"

Suddenly the mark on Kiryu's arm began to glow, and the top card of his deck glowed with a blue light. As it was his turn, Kiryu drew the card from his deck. The light quickly faded to reveal a card he had never seen before, but he knew that it was just the card he was waiting for.

"I summon the Tuner monster, Spirit Cleanser Fiend Exorcist!" Kiryu announced.

Materializing on the track was a small semi-humanoid figure clad in blue robes. The only part of its face that was visible was a pair of large round yellow eyes. Atop its head was a simple silver helmet with a small spike on top and a blue cloth hanging down around the sides. On the front of its chest it wore a silver plate of armor.

"When Fiend Exorcist is summoned to the field, I can Special Summon Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!" Kiryu announced. A column of blue light erupted from the ground and faded to reveal Kiryu's shadowy giant. "I now tune the level two Fiend Exorcist into the level ten Ccapac Apu for a level twelve Synchro Summon!"

The eyes of Fiend Exorcist flashed before it turned into two large rings of white light. The rings encircled Ccapac Apu and closed in around the giant. Once the rings entered Ccapac Apu's body, it began to glow with a brilliant white light.

"A holy resonance reverberates through the land! Its power casts away the darkness to reveal the light within!" Kiryu chanted. "Synchro Summon! Reveal yourself, Earthbound Guardian Ccapac Apu!"

After a blinding flash, Ccapac Apu had turned white and had taken a more muscular and benevolent appearance. Its head had gained an actual neck and a broad chin. Its face had a single large eye consisting of a blue circle around a small blue dot.

"What… what on earth is this?" a shocked Ushio demanded to know.

"This is the form Ccapac Apu had before he was corrupted by darkness!" Kiryu explained. "And now I use his effect on Black Widow!"

Blue lights began to fly out of the spider queen, causing her to bend down and grasp her neck with her right upper hand. The lights flew up into the center of Ccapac Apu's eye.

"What have you done?" Ushio demanded to know.

"In his guardian form, Ccapac Apu can negate the effects of an opponent's monster until the end of the turn." Kiryu revealed. "Not only that, Ccapac Apu gains half the ATK of the monster this effect was used on, meaning its ATK has gone up from 3500 to 4900!"

"What!" Ushio exclaimed.

"That's not all." Kiryu continued as he pointed his thumb at the giant. "Take a look at Ccapac Apu."

Ushio looked and saw Fiend Exorcist sitting inside the semi-transparent torso of Ccapac Apu. "What is that creature doing inside the giant?"

"Because Fiend Exorcist was used to summon Ccapac Apu's guardian form, Ccapac Apu gains another effect." Kiryu revealed. "When Ccapac Apu destroys a monster in battle, it deals damage equal to that monster's ATK!"

"But then that would mean…" Ushio quickly realized.

"This duel is over!" Kiryu finished. "Ccapac Apu, destroy Black Widow! Guardian Fist!"

Just as Ccapac Apu raised his fist to attack, Ushio grinned. "I'm afraid this duel won't end the way you think! I activate my Trap, Mirror Force!" But just as he pressed the button to activate the card, nothing happened. "What!"

"Sorry, but when Ccapac Apu attacks, my opponent can't activate Spell or Trap cards until after the battle." Kiryu revealed.

The giant's fist made contact, shattering Black Widow to pieces. The force of the impact sent Ushio and his D-Wheel flying backwards and caused his life points to drop straight to zero. With the duel over, Ccapac Apu vanished and the landscape returned to normal. Kiryu turned his D-Wheel and pulled up in front of the fallen Security officer.

"I don't know if you can still hear me, Skeleton Knight. But if you can, I want you to know one thing." Kiryu told him. "That role you had planned for me in that new world of yours… would never satisfy me."

Just then Mikage pulled up in her car and got out. "What on earth is going on here?"

Ushio groaned and slowly sat up as he rubbed his head. His eyes had returned to normal. "What the hell happened?"

"Ms. Mikage, please look after this man while I go back and help Yusei." Kiryu requested before quickly driving off.

"Hey, wait!" Mikage called after him, but there was no use. She sighed and went over to tend to Ushio. "Are you okay officer?"

Ushio looked at Mikage and blushed. "Uh… yeah, I think so. I've got kind of a headache, but other than that I think I'm okay."

"C'mon, I'll take you to a hospital." Mikage decided as she helped Ushio to his feet. "I'll call someone to come get your D-Wheel."

"Okay, sure." Ushio agreed. "So… what was your name again?"

* * *

Crow and Raven waited by the front gates of the Goodwin mansion with Bruno, Leo, and Luna. At long last, Yusei and the others finally arrived.

"Took you guys long enough." Crow told them. "Looks like you were able to get Jack to come with after all."

"I'm here because Satellite is in danger and that's it." Jack told Crow.

"Whatever." Crow replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey, where's Kiryu?" Luna asked after noticing the former Team satisfaction leader's absence.

"The Skeleton Knight sent one of his mind-controlled goons after us." Sect explained. "Kiryu's taking care of him right now."

"Who's this girl that came with you guys?" Leo inquired.

"Hi, I'm Carly." The reporter greeted.

"Wait a minute. Is this the same girl who tried to kill that TV reporter and that other dude last night?" Crow suddenly realized.

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that. I wasn't really myself last night." Carly explained as she nervously rubbed the back of her head.

"Let's just get this over with!" Jack told them.

"Good idea." Yusei agreed. "Crow, can you pick the lock to the gate?"

"Already done." Crow answered as he tapped the gate with the back of his hand, causing it to swing open. "What do you think I was doing while we were waiting for you guys? Of course it only took me five minutes."

With the gate open, the group rode into the courtyard towards the mansion. But before they could reach the house, the ground suddenly shook. The sky above darkened and shooting out of the ground near by was what looked like a large Mayan pyramid. The earth became still again once the pyramid fully emerged.

"Jack, do you know anything about this?" Yusei asked.

"This pyramid is new to me." Jack answered.

"Welcome everyone." A familiar voice greeted. Everyone turned to see Rex near the pyramid riding a black version of Jack's D-Wheel. He had on a white riding suit with a black helmet and scarf. "I've been expecting your arrival."

"What are you up to, Goodwin?" Yusei demanded to know.

"All in good time, Yusei." Rex replied. "There's still one more person that we have to wait for. And he should be here at any moment."

Just then, everyone could hear a galloping sound approaching. They looked to see the Skeleton Knight ride past them on his steed and pull up next to Rex.

"So you and the Skeleton Knight really have been working together this whole time!" Yusei realized.

"I believe some proper introductions are in order." Rex decided. "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet my brother, Rudger Goodwin."

With that, the knight pulled off his helmet, along with the skull that was supposedly his face. His true face was that of a man who looked a bit like Rex, with tanned skin and spiked white hair. On his cheeks were long red tribal markings.

"Hello Yusei." Rudger greeted. "It seems that the time has come for you to learn the truth about what's really going on here. And about what really happened to your father."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, we're getting pretty close to the climax of this story. I know, kind of soon compared to how long _Stardust and Roses_ was. But it just sort of worked out that way.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	19. Zero Reverse

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 18: Zero Reverse

"What do you mean the truth about what happened to my father?" Yusei demanded to know.

"What I told you about my bother and I working closely with your father on the Momentum Project was true, Yusei." Rex explained. "But what I've yet to tell you was just how the Zero Reverse actually happened."

"You mean… it wasn't an accident?" Yusei quickly realized.

"I'm afraid not." Rudger answered gravely. "Both Rex and I are responsible for what happened. But as hard as it might be for you to understand, it was necessary."

"How the hell could blowing up the reactor and causing the Zero Reverse be necessary?" Crow demanded to know. "Do you bastards know how much the people of Satellite have suffered because of what you did?"

"If you will remain calm, we can tell you the reason why Satellite had to be sacrificed." Rex told him.

"The go ahead." Yusei agreed. "Tell us why you decided it was necessary to kill my father and cause all this suffering."

"It all began one night when Rex and I were working late at the lab." Rudger began. "Your father had already gone home for the night, and I had decided to do a little more research on the reactor's power output. That was when I had made a startling and very troubling discovery. The first thing I did was tell my brother what I had found out…"

* * *

_It was seventeen minutes past 2:00 AM when a young Rex and Rudger Goodwin had sat down in the break room of the Momentum facility. Rudger had told his brother of the troubling discovery he had just made._

_Rex sat across the table looking stunned. "Rudger, are you completely sure about information?"_

_"There's no doubt about it, brother." Rudger answered as he looked down gravely at his cup of coffee. "If the reactor's spin becomes too fast, its rotation will become inverted and cause an explosive reaction more devastating than this world has ever known. There's no other choice. We have to shut down the project."_

_"But think what this project would mean to the world!" Rex pointed out. "The human race would no longer have to be dependant on fossil fuels or nuclear reactors!"_

_"I know that, Rex!" Rudger told him. "But it's too great a risk. Until we figure out just what causes this negative reaction, Momentum cannot be used."_

_Before Rex could respond, the entire room was suddenly bathed in a blinding white light. After a moment, the light soon faded and the Goodwin brothers found that they were standing in a strange white room that seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions. The entire chamber was filled with a deep bone-chilling cold. The brothers turned around to see floating before them a strange machine that was mainly white in color and shaped like an inverted coma. The device also seemed to have a sort of head with a strange mask on it. When Rex and Rudger looked closely at this head, they could see that a single human eye was visible. Whatever it was, it was clearly alive._

_"Who… what are you?" Rex asked._

_"I am Z-one… the last human." The machine answered in a deep, cold voice. "Rex Goodwin, Rudger Goodwin, I have brought you here because of one thing. You have both discovered the dangerous power of the Momentum Reactor, the Zero Reverse. I have come to tell you that such power will destroy the world."_

_"What do you mean destroy the world?" Rudger asked. "How do you know of this?"_

_"I am from a time you would call the future." Z-one explained. "A time when the Momentum Reactor was implemented across the world. The Zero Reverse caused by all those reactors ended up destroying almost all life on the planet."_

_"You mean… the reaction was that devastating?" a horrified Rudger asked._

_"Witness for yourselves." Z-one replied._

_A large holographic screen appeared before the Goodwin brothers. It showed the image of a futuristic Domino City being attacked by an army of strange-looking robots. Some of the machines were blue and shaped like birds. Others were white and had a humanoid build. There was also a third variety that was golden-yellow and was almost tank-like._

_"What on earth is this?" Rex wondered._

_"This is how the death of the human race began." Z-one coldly explained. "The computer system that regulated the Momentum Reactors world wide detected what was threatening the system to go into a Zero Reverse and created an army to eliminate it, the Meklords."_

_"And just what was the cause of the Zero Reverse?" Rudger asked._

_"The human race itself." Z-one answered. "Humanity's greed and lust for power was the cause. The human race was doomed by its own sins. The system realized this and created the Meklord's to exterminate every single human. But this was only the beginning."_

_The image on the screen changed to show an image of the Earth from space. A massive explosion of white light appeared on the planet's surface a second later. After the explosion, the screen cycled through several still images of dead and devastated cities. Moments later, the screen finally vanished._

_"The only thing the Meklords has done was to thin the herd of humanity." Z-one continued. "In the end, nothing could stop the final Zero Reverse. The planet Earth became nothing more than a massive graveyard floating through space. I am the last survivor of that world."_

_"Assuming for the moment that my brother and I believe you, and granted your credibility seems strong at the moment, why have you shown us all this?" Rex asked. "Is this simply just a warning, or something more?"_

_"My existence only has one purpose now." Z-one answered. "Dr. Hakase Fudo was a naïve ideallistic fool! The Momentum Reactor was something that should have never been invented! So I have made it my mission to erase its existence from history!"_

_"…We understand." Rex sighed. "If you will send us home, we will warn our government of the dangers and have the project delayed."_

_"To think that you of all people could be so naïve." Z-one told him. "The government would never believe you. And even if they did, they would still not cancel the project. The human race's lust for power is too great. There is only one option. The two of you must destroy the reactor."_

_"…What did you say?" a horrified Rudger asked._

_"Because of the reactor's size, the resulting Zero Reverse would only cause part of the city's landmass to split off into its own island." Z-one indifferently continued as he floated past the two brothers. "The remaining city should be relatively undamaged. Those on the island will not be so lucky, however. But it is a small price to pay. The incident will demonstrate the destructive power of Momentum and at least postpone the project for a time. That will buy time for me to begin the next phase of my plan."_

_"Now wait just a moment!" Rex protested. "We understand what's at stake, but how can you think that causing that sort of damage is an acceptable cost?"_

_With that, Z-one stopped and turned to face Rex. "I will tell you what you have told me many times before, Rex Goodwin," he spoke in a tone so bitter and full of rage that it sent a chill down Rex's spine, "sacrifices must sometimes be made for the greater good. Surly even you and your brother can see that a single island is a small price to pay for humanity's survival." With that, he turned and continued to hover away. "When you have completed your task, I will send three of my heralds to begin the next phase."_

_Suddenly the Goodwin brothers were hit by another wave of white light. When the light faded, the two found that they were back in the break room as if no time had passed. What they had gone through had been simply overwhelming, but both were certain that the experience was real._

_"So… what do we do Rex?" Rudger wondered._

_"…I don't know, brother." Rex answered._

* * *

"…My brother and I talked long and hard about what to do." Rex continued. "And in the end, we saw only one option. We carried out the first phase of Z-one's plan."

"And what about my dad?" Yusei demanded to know. "What did you end up doing to him?"

"I'm sorry Yusei. There was no choice." Rudger answered. "On the day when I was to trigger the Zero Reverse, your father tried to stop me. I had no choice but to shoot him. If it is any comfort, he spent his last moments making sure you would be safe from the explosion."

"Alright, so you two caused the Zero Reverse and made Satellite the living hell it is today." Jack cut in before Yusei could speak. "My question is, what the duce are you planning to do now?"

"Not everything had gone according to Z-one's plan." Rex revealed. "For one thing, I ended up surviving the Zero Reverse because I, like your friends Kiryu and Greiger, am connected to an Earthbound Immortal. That connection is what protected me that day. But something far more remarkable happened to my brother."

"When I triggered the Zero Reverse, I didn't just cause the city to split. I had opened a gateway to the underworld." Rudger revealed. "I had been hurled through that gate and met the king of the underworld. The king agreed to send me back if I became his envoy. Thus I was infused with his power and became the Skeleton Knight."

"My brother appeared before me, soon after." Rex continued. "After all that we had gone through, we had deduced that Z-one probably wasn't going to stop with the creation of Satellite. His plan involved erasing Momentum from history, and the only way he was going to accomplish that was to destroy all of Neo Domino. Rudger and I agreed that enough blood had been spilled. Fortunately, because of my brother's newfound power, there was another option.

"We soon came up with a plan to stop Z-one. Rudger was to stay in Satellite and keep an eye on the Infinity Triad. Meanwhile, I would work on becoming the director of Neo Domino."

"Wait a minute, after the Zero Reverse you would've still been stuck in Satellite." Crow realized. "How were you able to get to the city?"

"I'm an inventive man." Rex replied. "With a little time and effort, I managed to build a bridge to the city. Or at least part of one."

"No way… how the hell could a bastard like you be the hero who built Daedalus Bridge?" Crow quickly realized. "I… I admired that guy!"

"Sorry if I've failed to live up to your expectations." Rex indifferently replied.

"Just get to the point already, you two!" Raven demanded. "Just what are you guys up to?"

"To prevent Neo Domino's destruction, we must kill Z-one." Rudger explained. "And there is only one way to do that. We must bring forth the King of the Underworld and use his awesome power."

"But to do that, we must first reopen the gate." Rex added. "That is why we must reactivate the old reactor in Satellite and trigger another Zero Reverse."

"But if you do that, all of Satellite will be destroyed!" Yusei pointed out.

"Sacrifices must be made for the greater good." Rex replied. "Believe us Yusei, this is the only way to stop Z-one once and for all."

"But don't worry, at least your little gang will be safe." Rudger assured them as he produced the orb he had trapped the members of the Blackbird Gang in.

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Greiger interrupted. "I get this whole business with raising the King of the Underworld, but I want to know why you bastards destroyed my village!"

"Ah yes, Mr. Greiger. I'm afraid that your little village had the unfortunate honor of becoming a test site to see if opening the gate was truly possible." Rex explained. "Which indeed it was."

"But don't worry. Your fellow villagers are just fine, more or less." Rudger assured him as he produced another orb of lost souls. "I have them right here."

"Let those people go now!" Sect demanded.

"We will once we open the gate." Rex assured them.

"We're not going to let you sacrifice Satellite to summon some demon, or whatever it is!" Yusei declared.

"Please Yusei, don't try and make this more difficult than it has to be." Rudger requested.

"Come now, brother. We might as well give them a chance to stop us." Rex decided. "If any of you can defeat my brother and I in a duel, we will release your friends and stop all this."

"Fine then, I'll take you on!" Yusei decided.

"I will too!" Aki agreed. "Yusei and I will beat you just like we beat Aporia!"

"Hold on guys." Crow interrupted. "I think Raven and I should take these guys."

"No, I'll do it!" Greiger decided. "And I'll do it on my own if I have to."

"Now just hold on…" Yusei began.

"Enough!" Jack cut in. "If anyone's going to duel these two, it'll be me! I've still got a score to settle with Goodwin."

"Oh really Jack?" Rex smirked. "Surly the life I gave you wasn't that bad."

"You used me as a puppet for your own plans! I'm not going to get away with that!" Jack declared.

"I'm in too!" Carly decided. "I've got a bone to pick with the Skeleton Knight!"

"Ah yes, the girl who broke into Rex's office last night." Rudger recalled. "I almost didn't recognize you without your glasses. So I'm guessing you're mad about being hurled through a window."

"You're damn right I am!" Carly confirmed. "Prepare to get creamed!"

"Now wait a minute you two…" Yusei began.

"Shut up, crab head! Or I'll rip out your tongue and shove it up your ass!" Carly shouted, starting Yusei and the others. After a moment, Carly realized what she just said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Guess the power of my Earthbound Immortal went to my head there."

"Oh, well then maybe you should…" Aki began to suggest.

"Mind your own damn business, you bimbo!" Carly shouted, startling Aki. "Sorry, sorry. That was the Immortal again. I didn't mean that. Sorry."

"…Yeah, don't worry about it." A somewhat offended Aki replied.

"Very well, Jack." Rex finally agreed. "You and Ms. Carly shall duel me and my brother for the fate of Satellite and those Rudger has captured. Now to bring forth the arena!"

Rex raised his hand into the air and fired a ball of gold light into the sky. The ball of light suddenly began to draw the shape of a condor in the sky above. Once the drawing was finished, it tilted until the tail of it touched the ground.

"This will be the track where we shall have our duel." Rex explained. "I wish you and your companion luck, Jack. But by the end of this duel, a new world order shall begin."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Originally the final duel of this story was going to start at the end of this chapter. But I ended up getting stuck coming up with the new cards, and tag duels in general are sort of a pain to write. So the duel is still in the outline stages, but should hopefully done soon.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	20. Necessary Evil

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 19: Necessary Evil

Kiryu arrived at the courtyard of the Goodwin mansion just as Jack, Carly, and the Goodwin brothers rode onto the track of light that Rex had created. He pulled up next to Yusei and the others to get a closer look.

"What the hell's going on?" Kiryu asked.

"Jack and Carly are about to duel Goodwin and the Skeleton Knight." Yusei explained.

"Yeah, only the Skeleton Knight is actually Goodwin's brother." Crow added. "And if Jack and Carly lose this duel, those brothers are going to summon some kind of demon to kill Z-one and rule the world or something."

Back on the track of light, the four duelists neared the first corner. Jack was about to make it there first, but at the last second, Rudger pulled ahead on his undead steed.

"Because I have the first turn, I will decide the order of the duel!" Rudger announced. "I of course shall go first, followed by Carly, then my brother, and then Jack shall go last. With that decided, I now activate the Track Field, Domain of the Earthbound!"

In an instant, the mansion and the surrounding city were replaced by a dark wasteland under an overcast sky. The only things of the original landscape that remained were the pyramid and the track of light.

"I set two cards and one monster on the field!" Rudger announced. "That ends my turn!"

Carly drew her first card. "I summon Fortune Lady Water in Defense Mode!"

The water elemental of the Fortune Lady sisters appeared on the track. "Oh, so I have to participate in this? Very well, if I must."

"Did… did that monster just talk?" a startled Sect asked on the sidelines.

"It's no big deal. My cards talk to me all the time." Luna pointed out to him.

"Yeah, I can hear them too because of my Signer mark." Leo revealed.

"Next I activate the Spell card, Double Summon!" Carly announced. "With this card I also summon Fortune Lady Wind in Defense Mode!"

Wind appeared on the track next to Water and glanced at Rudger. "Hey sis, isn't that the son of a bitch who hurled Carly through a window last night?"

"Yes, it seems we have to fight him in some sort of tedious rematch." Water sighed.

"Whatever." Wind shrugged.

"I activate Wind's effect!" Carly announced. "Because she was Normal Summoned, I can destroy an opponent's Spell or Trap card for each Fortune Lady I have out. So I'll use her effect to destroy the two card Rudger set out last turn!"

"Blow off!" Wind called as she swung her staff and sent a blade of air across the track. The blade of wind shattered Rudger's two cards.

"That ends my turn!" Carly announced.

"An impressive move, young lady." Rex remarked as he drew his first card. "But I'm afraid you'll soon be wishing that you had saved your monster's effect for another time. I summon Heavenly Sentinel-Mithral the Sentry in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on the track near Rex was a warrior with white-feathered wings sitting in a cross-legged position. He had on white armored gauntlets and a robe of shining chain mail. On his head he wore a white helmet that covered the top half of his face.

"Next I play a Continuous Spell, Heavenly Veil!" Rex announced. "This card prevents Heavenly Sentinel monsters from being destroyed by card effects! I also play a second Continuous Spell, Heavenly Shield! Once per turn, this card lets me prevent a Heavenly Sentinel I control from being destroyed in battle!"

"So that's it? You're just going to hide behind that little wall of yours?" Jack smirked.

"This wall, as you call it, is harder to break than your think." Rex told him. "As long as Mithral is on the field, my opponent can only attack with one monster per turn."

"This isn't good." Bruno remarked on the sidelines. "The Goodwin bothers have put up a very strong defense. Because of Mithral's effect and Heavenly Shield, Jack will have no other choice but to either attack Rudger's monster or not attack at all."

"At least Carly managed to destroy Rudger's two Traps." Raven pointed out.

"True, but Rudger's monster could be a trap itself." Yusei pointed out. "The safe option would probably be to not attack and just wait things out. But knowing Jack, he probably won't play it safe."

"I end my turn." Rex announced. "Let's see your next move, Jack."

Jack drew his first card. "I summon Force Resonator in Attack Mode!"

A small demon similar to Jack's other Tuners appeared on the track. Mounted on his back was a large ornate ball.

"Oh, what an adorable little demon you are!" Water remarked to Jack's monster. Force Resonator seemed to blush at the comment.

"Really? You think that little thing is cute?" Wind asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Clearly, little sister, I am of a more sophisticated taste than you are." Water replied.

"Am I really the only one who doesn't think this is weird?" Sect asked on the sidelines.

"I tune my level two Force Resonator into Carly's level four Fortune Lady Water for a level six Synchro Summon!" Jack announced.

"You heard him, you charming little thing." Water spoke to Force Resonator. "Lay it on me."

Force Resonator rather excitedly shot bolts of yellow lightning into the air from his fingertips before changing into two rings of green light. The rings encircled Water and transformed her into four balls of white light.

"Lord of the dog star who scorches the heavens! Tear apart these earthbound toothless dogs!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear now, Siruis, the Blue Dog Star!"

The lights flashed into a pillar of blue light. The energy soon faded to reveal a large bipedal wolf with red eyes and blue fur. He had on light-blue armor, and on each hand he had a metal wolf head carved in the image of his own face.

"Sirius, attack Rudger's monster!" Jack commanded. "Wolf Fang!"

The blue wolf king lunged at Rudger's monsters, which was soon revealed to be a fairly large dark-green spider with four red eyes and a white skull mark on its abdomen. Sirius crushed the spider with the head on its right arm, causing it to explode into green gunk that scattered onto the wolf. Suddenly Sirius collapsed to one knee.

"What's happening?" Jack wondered.

"I'm afraid because you destroyed Skull Spider-Plague Venom, its poison has cut the ATK of your monster in half." Rudger explained.

"How typical of you, Jack." Rex remarked. "Always charging in without considering the full consequences of your actions. If you had thought things through a little more, you might not be in this situation."

"Shut up! I don't need you to tell me how to duel!" Jack told him. "I end my turn!"

Rudger drew his next card. "Because you have one more monster on the field than my brother and I do, I can Special Summon Skull-Spider King Weaver in Defense Mode!"

Appearing on the track was a very large fat black spider with bulky purple legs. It had four red eyes and a red skull mark on its abdomen.

"Next I summon the Tuner monster, Skull Spider-Silk Strummer!" Rudger announced. The banjo-playing spider appeared next to King Weaver. "With Silk Strummer effect, I summon Skull Spider-Plague Venom back to the field!" The dark-green spider Jack's monster had destroyed reappeared. "I now tune the level two Silk Strummer into the level three Plague Venom and level five King Weaver for a level ten Synchro Summon!"

Silk Strummer played an odd tune on its banjo before changing into two rings of red light. The rings encircled the other two spiders and changed them into eight balls of crackling black energy.

"The threads of the underworld shall be woven together to create the web of ancient evil! Behold the ascension of its dark ruler!" Rudger chanted. "Synchro Summon! The consort of the dark spider god, Skull Spider Queen-Bride of Uru!"

The dark lights exploded into a massive pillar of black energy. The energy faded to reveal a young-looking well-endowed woman with chalk-white skin and six arms. Her long blonde hair extended all the way down to her waist. She had on a skin-tight black bodysuit with red lines running down the arms and legs and two red markings on the belly. On her chest was a silver breastplate styled like a pair of skulls, and around her waist was a transparent miniskirt styled like a spider web. On each hand was a set of long red nails. On the front of her chest just above her cleavage was a purple spider-shaped mark like the one on Rudger's arms, and on her cheeks were red tribal markings like the ones on Rudger's face. The spider queen's eyes were black with red irises.

"Bride of Uru! Attack Sirius!" Rudger commanded. "Total Desiccation!"

The spider queen lunged at Sirius and bit down on his neck with a pair of vampiric fangs. Jack and the others watched in horror as Bride of Uru sucked the life from the wolf king, quickly reducing him to a withered husk that collapsed into dust. Wind was especially disgusted by the display. The queen wiped the remaining fluid from her mouth as Jack and Carly's life points dropped to 6200.

"What… what kind of attack was that?" a disgusted Carly asked.

"Spiders feed by draining the fluids from their victims." Rudger explained. "Each time Bride of Uru feeds on a monster this way, she gains that monster DEF. Which means her ATK has risen from 3000 to 4500."

"For now." Jack smirked.

"What?" Rudger exclaimed.

Before Jack could answer, a ghostly blue wolf's head appeared and went inside the spider queen. Bride of Uru fell to her knees and clasped her neck with the hand on her upper arms.

"What have you done?" Rudger demanded to know.

"When Sirius is destroyed, his raging spirit removes 2400 ATK from an opponent's monster." Jack explained. "Meaning your Bride of Uru's ATK has just dropped down to 2100."

"I'm impressed, Jack." Rex praised. "I never expected you capable of such tactics."

"You've always underestimated my power Goodwin!" Jack told him. "Today I'm going to make you regret that!"

"I end my turn!" an annoyed Rudger announced.

Carly drew her next card. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"

"I believe it's time to go on the offensive." Rex decided as he drew his next card. "I sacrifice Mithral to summon Heavenly Sentinel-Gram the Enforcer!"

Mithral shattered into bits of light and was replaced by another angelic warrior with massive white wings. He wore ornate white armor with gold trim. In his right hand he carried a silver spear, and a white helmet covered the top half of his face.

"I now activate another Continuous Spell, Heavenly Arua!" Rex announced. "While this card is in play, my Heavenly Sentinels can inflict battle damage to the opponent even when the monster is in Defense Mode!"

"Carly's monster only has 900 DEF!" Aki realized on the sidelines. "If Goodwin's monster destroys it, Jack and Carly will take a lot of damage."

"Plus he can still attack with Bride of Uru." Yusei pointed out. "Still, even after the attack is over, Jack and Carly should still have enough life points to last for another turn."

"That's actually not a bad monster." Jack remarked.

"I'm glad you approve." Rex replied. "But there's one other thing you should know. In addition to having 2500 ATK, when Gram destroys a monster, he inflicts damage equal to that monster's level time 400 points. Gram, attack Fortune Lady Wind! Divine Spear!"

"Crud!" Wind cursed as the angelic knight charged at her.

"I activate my Trap, Advanced Future!" Carly announced. "When a Fortune Lady is attacked, I can banish her to stop your attack and end the Battle Phase!"

A split second before Gram's spear struck, Wind vanished with a flash of green light. The attack was stopped and Carly breathed a small sigh of relief.

"The two of you are certainly holding your own." Rex remarked. "But I should tell you both that it'd be far easier for everyone if you didn't fight us. The human race is far better off if you let our plan succeed."

"Really?" Jack scoffed. "And how do you figure that? Just what is this grand plan of yours?"

"My brother and I researched this thoroughly, and it turns out what Z-one told us is true. Momentum energy truly is influenced by human emotion." Rex explained. "Humanity's dark desires do indeed have the potential to cause the Zero Reverse. But we have come up with a solution more perfect that Z-one's plan. Once Z-one is dead, we shall guide the human race. We will create a utopia where wickedness and greed will no longer exist.

"In order to accomplish this, we shall eliminate human desire. And we shall do this by giving each person a role in society that will be decided from birth. In that role, they shall want for nothing. Each person shall be perfectly content."

"But, it sounds like you'd be taking away a person's right to choose how to live." Carly pointed out.

"It is the only way to save the human race." Rudger told them. "It may seem evil, but if it is, than it is a necessary evil. The human race cannot be entrusted with its own destiny."

"What a load of bull!" Jack scoffed. "I played the role you assigned me for two years, and even though your gilded cage had its perks, it was still a hallow life. No person wants their right to decide their own fate taken away from them, Goodwin! There's nothing more humiliating than that! Carly and I are going to put an end to this scheme of yours!"

"Go ahead and try." Rex dared. "I end my turn."

"Because you end your turn, Advanced Future returns Wind to the field at level five!" Carly announced.

Wind reappeared on the track with her arms crossed and glared at the Goodwin brothers. "You old jerks are so dead!"

Jack drew his next card. "I summon Dark Resonator in Attack Mode!" The small tuning fork demon appeared on the track. "I now tune my level three Dark Resonator into Carly's level five Fortune Lady Wind for a level eight Synchro Summon!"

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Wind loudly protested, startling Dark Resonator. "You expect me to help summon the dragon that almost creamed Light in the last duel?"

"Just shut up and cooperate!" Jack ordered.

"Kiss off!" Wind fired back.

"Look Wind, you can either help Jack summon his dragon, or you can let yourself get killed by one of those two monsters." Carly pointed out.

Wind looked back over at Gram and Bride of Uru. The spider queen hissed Wind, causing her to shudder.

"Well?" Jack impatiently asked.

"…Fine, I sure as hell don't wanna go out like that wolf." Wind finally relented. "Do it, you weird little demon!"

"You're right Sect. This duel is getting weird." Crow finally agreed down on the sidelines.

Dark Resonator gave an exasperated sigh before clinking his tuning fork. The little demon changed into three green rings of light that encircled an irritated Wind. Wind crossed her arms and turned up her nose before transforming into five balls of white light.

"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a pillar of red flames. The flames soon died down to reveal Jack's red and black dragon.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, crush Bride of Uru!" Jack commanded. "Absolute Power Force!"

A ball of fire formed in the dragon's claw, and it used that ball to punch Rudger's spider queen. Bride of Uru was knocked backwards by the attack before shattering apart into bits of energy and vanishing. The attack had dropped the life points of the Goodwin brothers to 7100. But suddenly, Rudger started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Fools! When Bride of Uru leaves the field, I can summon her consort from my deck!" Rudger revealed. "Arise, Earthbound Immortal Uru!"

A massive pillar of red light suddenly erupted from the pyramid below. When the light faded, a spider web of purple flames had formed inside the condor glyph that was the track for the duel. And standing in the center of the web was Rudger's giant shadowy black and red spider.

"Your fates are now sealed!" Rudger declared. "No matter what you do, a new world order shall soon begin!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The outline for the duel actually turned out to be not that hard to do. I ended up having to tweak a few card effects and correct a few mathematical errors, but nothing big. One of the harder parts was figuring out how to work in the part where Fortune Lady Wind gets ticked off about being used to summon Jack's dragon. Another hard part was figuring out the cards Rex was going to use. Just like with Rudger and Jaeger, it didn't seem like Rex's cards from either the anime or manga would work. So I came up with a new small set. By the way, I admittedly borrowed the Goodwin brothers' master plan for the human race from _Gundam SEED Destiny_. Not very original, I know. But it works.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	21. Burning Xyz

**Author's Note:** At long last, here it is. The final chapter of The False King. I hope everyone enjoys it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.

* * *

Chapter 20: Burning Xyz! The Ultimate Archfiend Dragon!

"I'm sure as you're both aware, Earthbound Immortal Uru can make direct attacks." Rudger reminded Jack and Carly. "Not even your dragon can stop it."

"I set one card on the field and end my turn." Jack announced.

Rudger chuckled as he drew his next card. "Uru, attack Jack and Carly directly! Hell Thread!"

"I activate my Trap, Half or Nothing!" Jack quickly announced. "Now you can either cut the ATK of all your monsters in half for this Battle Phase or stop the battle right now!"

"What a futile move!" Rudger laughed. "But then I suppose it's the best you two can manage considering the circumstances. Fine, I choose to halve the ATK of all our monsters! But it makes little difference, as Uru can still attack directly!"

Jack and Carly were both struck by the razor-sharp silk threads the spider spat from it mouth. The attack dropped their life points down to 4700.

"I end my turn." Rudger announced.

"Man, that was a close one!" Crow declared down on the sidelines. "That was actually a pretty good move Jack pulled, cutting the damage in half like that."

"Yeah, but things can only get worse from here. Both the Goodwin brothers have Earthbound Immortals." Greiger reminded them. "And with Domain of the Earthbound in play, both their Immortals can be on the field at the same time. If Rex summons his Immortal on his next turn, Jack and Carly will be finished."

"Then it all depends on Carly's next move." Yusei observed.

Carly drew her next card. "I summon Fortune Lady Fire in Attack Mode!"

The second youngest of the Fortune Lady sisters appeared on the track and noticed Uru. "Wow! This does not look good."

"Because I have a Fortune Lady on the field, I Special Summon the Tuner monster, Time Bending Witch!" Carly announced. The infant witch appeared next to Fire. "Next I activate the effect of Time Bending Witch and raise her level from one to six!"

The witch glowed with a purple aura and suddenly began to grow older. When her transformation had finished, she had grown into a young woman. Her pink hair had grown half way down her back, and her sparkling purple cloak had opened in front, revealing a red short-sleeved shirt that showed her midriff and a red miniskirt with a gold belt. She had on blue boots and elbow-high gloves, and in her right hand she carried a wooden staff with a golden clock on the top.

"I tune the level six Time Bending Witch into the level two Fortune Lady Fire for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Carly announced.

The clock on the witch's staff began to spin as she waved it in the air. Time Bending Witch changed into six rings of pink light and encircled Fire, changing the Fortune Lady into two balls of white light.

"The stars of fate change here and now! Reveal the dark path to the world beyond!" Carly chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear before us, Witch Queen of the Netherworld!"

The lights flashed and erupted into a pillar of red energy. The energy soon faded to reveal Carly's otherworldly witch queen, her black bladed scythe in hand.

"That ends my turn!" Carly announced.

"That's a rather imposing monster you've summoned, young lady." Rex remarked as he drew his next card. "But I'm afraid it won't help you, because I'm about to bring this duel to an end. I sacrifice Gram to summon Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca!"

The angelic warrior shattered to bits and a column of purple light erupted from the ground below. In moments, the light faded to reveal a massive shadowy black condor with purple marks on its body. Most of these marks were on the bird's gigantic wings.

"In order for Wiraqocha Rasca to gain his full power, I must return three of my cards on the field to my hand." Rex announced. "So I return Heavenly Veil, Heavenly Shield, and Heavenly Arua so that Rasca's ATK rises from 100 to 3100!"

"This is just what we were afraid of." Kiryu spoke on the sidelines. "If the attacks of both those Immortals get though, Jack and Carly are finished."

"I attack directly with Earthbound Immortal Uru!" Rex announced. "Hell Thread!"

"I activate the effect of Witch Queen of the Netherworld!" Carly announced just as Uru launched its attack. "Once per turn, when one of my opponent's monsters attacks, I can banish it from the field until the beginning of my opponent's next turn!"

The Witch Queen cackled as she swung her scythe. The black blade tore a hole in space that intercepted Uru's threads. The tear then moved forward and quickly expanded, enveloping Uru before shrinking away to nothing.

"Impressive, but you still can't stop my next attack!" Rex pointed out. "Wiraqocha Rasca, attack them directly! Death Singularity!"

The giant condor flapped his massive wings, creating a massive vortex of black wind. The force of the gale was so strong that it almost knocked Jack and Carly off the track, down to the earth far below. Somehow they survived, but their life points had fallen to 1600.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn." Rex announced. "I commend you both for managing to survive for another turn, but I'm afraid that there's nothing more you can do. Now that I've summoned Rasca, the strongest of the Earthbound Immortals, there's nothing you can do to stop me and my brother."

"I'm sorry, but did you just say that big chicken of yours is the strongest of the Earthbound Immortals?" Jack scoffed. "I don't know much about these Immortals, but from what that giant, Greiger, told me on the way over here, it seems that my Immortal's the strongest."

"_Your_ Immortal?" Rex repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait, he couldn't possibly be talking about the Crimson Devil, could he?" Raven wondered on the sidelines.

"Didn't you say if that thing woke up, the world would be destroyed?" Crow recalled.

"Yeah, I don't see how he could possibly control it." Raven answered. "If he tries to summon that thing, it'll be as bad as if the Goodwin brothers open the gate to the underworld."

"Do you really expect me to buy such an obvious bluff?" Rex scoffed. "Very well, Jack. Show me this Earthbound Immortal of yours."

"You asked for it!" Jack replied as he drew his next card. "I activate the Spell card, Resonator Call! With this, I add Creation Resonator to my hand! Next I summon Barrier Resonator in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on the track was another of Jack's Resonator monsters. This one had a large blue and silver storage battery with two antennas on top. On the front of his green sash was a red lightning bolt.

"Because I have a Synchro monster on the field, I also summon Creation Resonator!" Jack announced. The small windmill demon appeared on the track. "I now tune the level one Barrier Resonator and the level three Creation Resonator into the level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!"

The two demons clinked their tuning forks and transformed into four rings of red flames. The flames encircled Red Dragon Archfiend and formed into a massive ball of fire.

"The King and The Devil, here and now, shall become as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! Come forth, Red Nova Dragon!"

The fireball exploded and the evolved form of Jack's dragon emerged with a roar. The Goodwin brothers were in awe of the dragon, as were Yusei and the others down below.

"Raven, is that really the Crimson Devil?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, but I never expected this." Raven confirmed. "Somehow Jack merged it with his dragon in order to control it."

"Red Nova Dragon gains 500 ATK for each Tuner monster in my Graveyard." Jack revealed. "Right now I have four, which means Red Nova's ATK is 5500!"

After a moment, Rex got over his initial shock and smirked. "I must admit, that is a very impressive creature. But for all your posturing, you've forgotten one important thing Jack. Your new dragon may have a much higher ATK than Wiraqocha Rasca, but Rasca can't be attacked!"

"You let me worry about that." Jack told him. "I end my turn!"

"Then it's my move!" Rudger declared as he drew his next card.

As soon as Rudger drew, Earthbound Immortal Uru reappeared on the track in the middle of its web. But when the spider reappeared, Rex and Rudger were hit by a wave of energy that dropped their life points to 5600.

"What just happened?" Rex wondered.

"Oops, I guess I forgot to mention that when a monster banished by my witch queen returns to the field, my opponent takes half that monster's ATK as damage." Carly explained.

"It masters not!" Rudger declared. "I now play a Spell card, Offering to the Spider God! With this card, I summon a Spider Offering Token to the field!" Appearing on the field was a small black spider with purple markings on its body. "While it can't attack our Immortals, that dragon could still be a problem. So I activate Uru's effect and sacrifice my Spider Offering Token to and take control of Red Nova Dragon until the end of the turn!"

"Brother, no!" Rex called out a moment too late.

The small spider shattered to bits before Uru shot out a silken rope at Red Nova. But as soon as the rope wrapped around the dragon's waist, the rope caught on fire. The flames traveled down the rope like a fuse and set Uru's entire body ablaze. The demon spider let out an unholy shriek before collapsing and shattering into bits of black ash. Uru's web of purple flames soon faded to nothing.

"What… just happened?" a stunned Rudger wondered.

"What happened was your own Field Spell." Jack explained with a cocky expression. "Domain of the Earthbound can negate cards that target an Earthbound Immortal and destroy them. And that effect works on both side of the field!"

"Red Nova Dragon was created by merging Jack's dragon with the Crimson Devil. So technically it is an Earthbound Immortal." Raven realized.

"Damn!" Rudger cursed.

"Don't worry, brother. Your move was not as big a mistake as you thought." Rex assured him. "I activate my Trap, Earthbound Vengeance! When an Earthbound Immortal is destroyed by a card effect this Trap destroys all of my opponent's monsters!"

Suddenly a pillar of molten fire shot up from the ground below and struck Jack and Carly's two monsters. When the fire finally vanished, the Witch Queen of the Netherworld was gone. But Red Nova was completely unharmed.

"What! How is that dragon still alive?" a shocked Rex wondered.

"Nice try, but Red Nova can't be destroyed by my opponent's card effects." Jack explained.

"Your dragon may have survived, but you two won't survive this next attack!" Rudger declared. "Wiraqocha Rasca, attack those fools directly! Death Singularity!"

"I activate Red Nova's effect!" Jack announced. "By banishing him until the end of the turn, I can negate your monster's attack!"

Just as the condor whipped up another massive wind, Red Nova vanished in a flash of red light. In the dragon's place, a pillar of flames appeared and blocked the windstorm.

"Damn you!" Rudger cursed. "Fine, I set one card on the field an end my turn."

"And with the end of your turn, Red Nova returns to the field!" Jack announced. The demon dragon reappeared in another flash of red light.

"That's not all!" Carly added. "During the end of a turn when Witch Queen of the Netherworld is destroyed, I can add Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu to my hand!"

"You two are starting to look a little frustrated." Jack observed. "Looks like your little plan isn't going as well as you hoped."

"Your dragon is proving to be a minor inconvenience." Rex admitted. "I never imagined that you would ever gain control of such a powerful monster. How on earth did you obtain it?"

"About the time when Yusei got here, that Crimson Devil, or whatever he called himself, came before me and offered me power if I let him take control." Jack revealed. "I wanted power, but I was through with being controlled. So I took control of him with the power of my Burning Soul!"

"Burning Soul?" Rudger repeated.

"You know I've realized something just now Goodwin. I'm not the only one who has this kind of power." Jack continued. "Everyone's soul burns with a will that makes them want to take their destiny with their own hands! Not even someone like you and that weird brother of yours can put out those flames!"

"Don't be so sure, Jack." Rex smirked. "You'd be amazed how happy and compliant people can be when their heart's desire is handed to them. Look at how you were when you were still the champion of this city. You were happy with your position and wanted for nothing. And when my brother and I establish the new order, it will be the same for everyone else."

"You're wrong!" Carly cut it. "You don't know people as well as you think you do, Goodwin! Jack might have seemed happy, but I know that he always felt empty on the inside. And when he found out that you were using him, he felt hurt because he lost his pride! I won't let you do that to him or anyone else again!"

Suddenly the top card on Carly's deck began to glow with an orange light. Seeing as it was her turn, Carly drew the card from her deck. The light faded to reveal a card Carly had never seen before, but she knew exactly what to do with it.

"I summon the Tuner monster, Spirit Cleanser Fairy Witch!" Carly announced.

Appearing on the track was a young witch who appeared to be ten years old. She had short purple hair and emerald eyes. On her head was a black conical hat with a wide orange band. She also had on a black cloak with a pair of orange fairy wings on the back.

"When Fairy Witch is summoned, I can Special Summon an Earthbound Immortal!" Carly announced. "Appear, Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu!" A pillar of orange light shot up from the ground and Carly's shadowy hummingbird emerged. "Because she was summoned with Fairy Witch's effect, Aslla piscu's effects are negated. But that doesn't matter, because I now tune the level two Fairy Witch into the level ten Aslla piscu for a level twelve Synchro Summmon!"

The young witch changed into two rings of white light. The rings expanded and encircled Aslla piscu.

"A heavenly resonance reverberates through the sky! Its shining power casts away the darkness to bring new hope!" Carly chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Earthbound Guardian Aslla piscu!"

The rings shrank and went inside Aslla piscu, causing her body to glow with a blinding white light. The light quickly faded to reveal a white Aslla piscu with only one pair of eyes and a much gentler appearance. Her wings had changed to have a more feathered appearance.

"When Earthbound Guardian Aslla piscu is summoned, Jack and I gain 800 life points equal to the number of monsters on the field!" Carly announced. The white hummingbird flapped her wings and showered Carly and Jack with sparking white specks of light that increased their life points to 4000. "I now activate Aslla piscu's effect, which lets me negate the effects of an opponent's monster until the end of the turn! And the monster I choose is Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca!"

"You forget, my dear. Domain of the Earthbound allows me to negate and destroy cards that target Earthbound Immortals." Rex reminded her.

"Normally you'd be right. Except the effect of Aslla piscu can't be stopped by any other cards!" Carly revealed.

Aslla piscu shot a beam of orange light from her long beak that struck Wiraqocha Rasca in the chest. The lines on the condor's body changed from purple to a dull grey.

"Because Raca's effects are negated, his ATK drops back to 100, making him 2900 points weaker than Aslla piscu." Carly revealed. "And now, Aslla piscu attacks Wiraqocha Rasca! Sky Guardian Spear!" The hummingbird thrust her beak into the condor's chest, causing Rasca to explode in a flash of white light. "Red Nova, attack Goodwin directly! Burning Soul!"

Before the light of the explosion completely faded, Red Nova flew into Rex with a body covered in red flames. It seemed that the duel was over. But when the light of the explosion cleared and Jack and Carly checked the consuls of their D-Wheels, they both saw that the life points of the Goodwin brothers had gone up to 14000.

"What the duce?" a stunned Jack exclaimed. "How is it that your life points have gone up?"

"When you launched your first attack I activated my Trap, Healer's Web." Rudger explained. "All I had to do was banish a Skull Spider from my Graveyard and all the damage my brother and I would've taken increased our life points instead."

"Those dirty rotten cheaters!" Crow cursed down on the sidelines. "Just when Jack and Carly had the duel in the bag, those two bastards turned the tables on them!"

"It's not all that bad. Rex and Rudger don't have any monsters left." Yusei pointed out. "So even though they have a lot more life points, Jack and Carly still have the advantage."

"Besides, both Goodwins' Earthbound Immortals have been destroyed." Aki added. "I don't see how they could really turn the duel around."

"Darn. I guess I have to end my turn." Carly sighed.

"Carly, don't worry about it. You did well." Jack assured her.

"Not well enough, I'm afraid." Rex spoke as he drew his next card. "The two of you have proven to be much more of a challenge than I expected. But while you may have destroyed our Immortals, you've yet to face our strongest monster."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I summon Heavenly Sentinel-Vestra the Priestess!" Rex announced.

Appearing on the track was an angelic woman with long blonde hair that went all the way down to her waist and a pair of white-feathered wings. She had on white robes, and a white helmet covered the top half of her face.

"When Vastra is summoned to the field, I can add a Ritual monster and a Ritual Spell to my hand." Rex announced. "Next I activate the Spell card, Heavenly Salavtion! By returning three of the cards in my hand to the deck, I can add Mistral and Gram from my Graveyard to my hand. And now I activate the Ritual Spell, Hour of Judgment! I sacrifice Vastra, Mithral, and Gram to summon the Ritual monster, Heavenly Judge Seraphim!"

Vastra suddenly flew high up into the air. Gram and Mitral appeared on the track a moment later and followed. The three angels flew higher and higher into the sky until the faded from view. Suddenly there was an explosion of white light that illuminated the darkened sky. Descending from above was an angelic being with ten gold-feathered wings covered in heavy gold and white armor. In his right hand, the being carried an ornate golden staff, and his entire body generated a powerful white aura.

"Even your dragon is not a match for this monster, Jack." Rex declared. "The divine aura generated by Seraphim negates the effects of all Synchro monster on the field. Which means Red Nova's ATK returns to its original amount, and he loses his indestructibility and the power to negate attacks."

"All this time he had an anti-Synchro monster?" a stunned Kiryu asked.

"With Red Nova's ATK back to normal, Seraphim is now 500 points stronger. But I'm not going to destroy your dragon just yet." Rex revealed. "I activate Seraphim's effect! Once per turn I can reduce the ATK of an opponent's monster to zero and deal damage equal to the ATK that monster lost!"

Seraphim aimed the tip of his spear at Red Nova and fired a beam of white light. The dragon was struck through the chest by the beam, which continued to pass through and hit Jack and Carly. Their life points dropped down to 500.

"Seraphim can't attack during the turn I use this effect. So I now end my turn." Rex announced. "Go ahead and make your last turn, Jack. Though I assure you, there's nothing you can do."

Jack drew his next card, but as soon as he did the earth suddenly shook. Just then, a massive pillar of black energy burst up from the ground, destroying the pyramid below the track, and shot high up into the sky.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded to know.

"I'm afraid my brother and I had an ulterior motive for having this duel." Rex revealed. "The sole purpose of this duel was to open the gates of the underworld and allow the king to rise."

"Wait, I thought the gate was in Satellite where the old Momentum Reactor was!" Carly recalled.

"The Zero Reverse created by the reactor creates the energy to open the gate completely, and also provides the sacrifices needed to satisfy the king." Rudger revealed. "But the true opening of the gate is here, the site of the ceremonial duel!"

"Once your life points reach zero, the reactor in Satellite will reactivate." Rex added. "It is time for you to finish your role in this ceremony, Jack."

Jack looked into the pillar of energy and scowled. There was nothing in his hand that he could use to turn the duel around. And he could sense a dark power coming from inside that pillar. It was a power that seemed almost like the Crimson Devil's. Suddenly, a wild idea came to Jack.

"Carly, do you trust me?" Jack asked.

"Of course I do Jack." Carly assured him. "Why?"

"Just follow my lead." Jack requested. He turned his head to look at Rex. "I've already told you before, Goodwin! I'm through being your puppet!"

Suddenly both Jack and Carly drove their D-Wheels off the track of light into the pillar of dark energy. Their two monsters followed them into the darkness. Yusei and the others watch from below in horror.

"JACK!" Yusei called out.

"How typical of Jack." Rex indifferently remarked. "Preferring to die rather than admit defeat."

"It makes no difference, Rex." Rudger pointed out. "In moments the King of the Underworld will rise and we will finally be able to kill Z-one and change the world."

Suddenly the ground began to shake again, only much harder than before. The pillar of dark energy burst into an expanding pillar of red flames. The sky became red and cracked with thunder. Then in moments the flames vanished. Hovering in the sky of the track of light was a new dragon that was three times the size of Red Nova. It had six red-feathered wings that were the color of dried blood. Its body was primarily black and covered in red stripes. The font of its torso was covered in silver armor with a blue gemstone on the front in the shape of a diamond. On its head were a large pair of curved dark-grey horns and a mass of stringy grey hair. Jack and Carly were riding on the back of the dragon's neck. Carly was sitting behind Jack and wearing a red cape with a high collar with a red miniskirt and a skimpy red shirt and a pair of knee-high red leather boots. The hummingbird mark on her right arm had turned blood red. Jack was wearing a long red coat with silver armor on the torso. In his hands he held a black chain that served as the reigns of the new dragon. Orbiting around the dragon were two balls of red flame.

"What… what is this?" a stunned Rex asked.

"This is your King of the Underworld." Jack revealed. "Carly and I went through your little gate, and using the power of our Burning Souls we took control of the King of the Underworld. With its power we overlaid Red Nova and Aslla piscu to perform a new move, Burning Xyz! And this is the monster that was created, Archfiend Emperor Dragon-Crimson Nova!"

"How is this possible?" Rudger wondered.

"Your Seraphim's power doesn't work on Crimson Nova, so Jack and I now activate his effect!" Carly announced. "By detaching his two overlay units, we can reduce the ATK of one monster on the field to zero! And the monster we choose is Heavenly Judge Seraphim!"

The two fireballs orbiting the dragon went into the gemstone on his chest. A blue beam shot from the gem and hit Seraphim, causing his aura to fade.

"Crimson Nova also gains the ATK of every Synchro monster in each player's Graveyard." Jack revealed. "Which means his ATK rises from 5000 to 22700!"

"Impossible!" a shocked Rex exclaimed.

"Crimson Nova, attack Seraphim!" Jack and Carly commanded together. "Crimson Soul Fire!"

The demon dragon opened his jaws and blasted Seraphim with a stream of crimson hellfire. When the attack struck, it created a massive explosion of blinding white light. After a moment the light finally faded and the surroundings had returned to normal. The sky had cleared and the pyramid had vanished without a trace. Not even a piece of rubble remained. When Yusei and the others looked, they saw a severely injured Rex and Rudger on the ground near the wreckage of a broken D-Wheel and the broken skeletal remains of a horse. Jack and Carly pulled up near the brothers on their D-Wheels, wearing their original outfits.

Jack dismounted and walked over to Rex. "What a pathetic sight you are. You tried to be the king of the world, and this is what you ended up as."

"It appears… I sorely underestimated you." Rex replied weakly. "But you realize… that by defeating us… you have doomed the future of the world."

"Goodwin!" Yusei called as he walked over. "Taking over the world and planning out peoples' lives isn't the way to save the future! As far as I'm concerned, you and your brother are no better than Z-one!"

"You… may be right… Yusei." Rudger admitted. "If there truly is… a better way… than I'm sure… you'll be the one to find it. You are… your father's son… after all."

"Hey bonehead! What about my gang?" Crow demanded to know. "What happens to them now?"

"Yeah! And what about the people of my village?" Greiger added.

"Don't worry. They… have been released." Rudger assured them. "For them… it was as if… nothing ever happened… to them."

"Tell me Yusei. Are you… angry at my brother and I?" Rex asked.

"You killed my father and caused all the suffering in Satellite." Yusei pointed out. "Not the mention all the stuff you've done recently! So how do you expect me to feel?"

"Those eyes… you're looking at me with. They're the same eyes… that Z-one looked at me with… when we spoke." Rex revealed, startling Yusei a bit. "He's been trying… to change the future. But I wonder… just how much of the future… has already been changed. And… how much of Z-one's past has changed as well."

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked.

"If you face Z-one… you may find out for yourself." Rex replied. "Good luck… Yusei Fudo."

With that, the Goodwin brothers suddenly turned to black dust and collapsed into nothing. The dust that remained of their bodies blew away in the breeze.

"Good riddens if you ask me." Crow remarked.

"You okay Yusei?" a somewhat concerned Aki asked.

"Yeah… yeah I'm fine." Yusei assured her.

"Yusei." Jack interrupted.

"You had me worried there for a bit." Yusei told him.

"Please, as if some underworld demon could kill me." Jack scoffed.

"So this Z-one guy Goodwin was talking about, is he still coming?" Carly asked.

"He is." Bruno confirmed with a greave expression. "And it may not be much longer before he strikes."

"Just who is this Z-one, anyway?" Jack asked.

"It's a long story, but we could really use your help stopping him." Yusei answered.

"Fine. I suppose I owe you that much." Jack agreed. "Besides, this Z-one seems just as bad as Goodwin. But let's get one thing straight Yusei. You and I still have a score to settle. When all this is over I want to face you on equal terms."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Yusei smirked as he and Jack brought their hands together.

* * *

A week passed since the fall of the Goodwin bothers. And much had happened in that time. Just as Rudger Goodwin had said, the rest of the Blackbird Gang had been returned to the Bird's Nest as if nothing had happened. Greiger had decided to go back to his old village to repair the damage the Goodwin brothers had caused. Meanwhile, with Rex's mysterious disappearance, Jaeger had ended up taking the position of Director of Neo Domino. And with a little convincing from Yusei and some intimidation from Jack, Jager had agreed to build a proper bridge that would finally reunite Neo Domino and Satellite. Carly had gotten a new job at a small local newspaper where she was a bit more respected, and Jack of course had moved in to her place. Crow and Raven had returned to Satellite with Kiryu and Sect, while Yusei and Aki remained at the Fudo mansion Bruno and the twins.

On that particular evening as the evening sun began to set, Yusei was standing out on the deck looking out at the city. There was a lot he had on his mind.

After an uncertain amount of time, Aki joined Yusei out on the deck. "I thought I'd find you here. I just got a call from Raven over in Satellite. Everything's going fine at the Nest."

"Good." Yusei replied.

"She asked if we were going to change our minds about staying here at the mansion." Aki continued. "Are you sure you want to stay here?"

"For now anyway." Yusei answered. "This is a better place for the twins. Besides, this house is the only thing I have left of my parents. I may sell it one of these days, but for now…"

"I understand." Aki replied. "…Yusei, is something bothering you?"

"…What Goodwin said before he died about my eyes being like Z-one's. I actually got to me a little." Yusei admitted. "It reminded me of what Bruno said about Z-one after we beat Aporia. He said that Z-one was a lot like me."

"Well I wouldn't pay attention to anything Goodwin said. Besides, Bruno's memory isn't the best." Aki pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Yusei agreed.

"So is that the only thing bothering you?" Aki asked.

"Well… actually there is something else I've been meaning to talk to you about." Yusei admitted as he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"What is it?" Aki asked.

After a moment, Yusei took a deep breath and got down on one knee. He then presented a small red velvet box to Aki and opened it to reveal a gold ring with a small diamond on the top. "Will you marry me?"

Aki was simply at stunned by the question. Her face turned a deep shade of red.

"I mean I know we're young, and we might be rushing into things." Yusei began to babble. "If you want to wait, I'll understand…"

"Yusei?" Aki interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?" Yusei asked.

"Yes I will marry you." Aki replied.

Yusei smiled and got back to his feet. The two looked deeply into one another's eye before meeting in a deep passionate kiss.

* * *

Misty Lola awoke to find that she was inside a large white room of some kind. Just where she didn't know, all she knew was that it was not her room at the mansion in the Pit. The room was incredibly cold, so cold that she could see her breath. There was some furniture in the room. There was the soft bed she was on, as well as a small table an a couple chairs, and few tall shelves full of books. And all of it was white like the room. Misty also noticed that she was wearing a white bodysuit with green markings on it.

"Good, you are finally awake." A deep booming voice spoke.

Misty looked as saw hovering before her some sort of strange white machine shaped like an inverted coma. The device had a head with a strange mask on it, and Misty could see at least one human eye inside. Whatever it was, it was clearly alive.

"Who… what are you?" a frightened Misty asked.

"I am Z-one, the last human." The machine replied in a gentle yet somehow cold tone. "You needn't be afraid of me. I will not hurt you."

"What do you mean the last human?" Misty asked. "What's going on?"

"You have been sent here to my time." Z-one explained. "This place is my fortress, the Arc Cradle, which is in a time you would know as the future."

"This is supposed to be the future?" Misty asked with disbelief. "How did I get here?"

"My three heralds, Lucciano, Placido, and Jose sent you to me after witnessing your power." Z-one explained. "They felt that you would prove useful to me."

Misty still felt like her mind was in a fog. She was trying to remember just what happened before she blacked out. Then it suddenly came to her. She remembered the room where Divine was about to perform some sort of procedure on Aki. She recalled the three she knew as the Infinity Triad enter the room. And then, Misty remembered calling forth some sort of horrid lizard creature that devoured Divine. She was horrified by this memory.

"How… how could I?" Misty asked as she curled into a ball on the bed. "How could I do… such a horrible thing?"

"You remembered killing Divine, didn't you?" Z-one deduced.

"You… you know about that?" Misty asked, raising her head to look at Z-one.

"Placido informed me of it before sending you to me." Z-one revealed. "You need not feel remorse for that deed, for Divine deserved to die. After all, did he not torture your brother to death?"

Suddenly another memory came rushing back to Misty. She remembered how Lucciano had shown her a video of Divine torturing her younger brother to try and bring out his full psychic ability. That was the thing that had caused her to summon the thing that devoured him.

"Divine was the worst scum of humanity" Z-one continued in a bitter and somewhat angry tone. "You did your time a favor by terminating his existence."

"Did… did you know him?" Misty asked.

"…In another time I did." Z-one replied after a short pause. "It's strange that I would still feel emotion after all this time. But I find that the news of Divine's death brings me great pleasure. I hope you will forgive me for saying that I hoped he suffered a great deal when he died."

The conversation was interrupted when an electric door in the room suddenly slid open. Walking in was a young-looking man with long blonde hair wearing a sleeveless black leather shirt and pants. He had some sort of purple ornament adorning the front of his hairstyle, and on his cheek was a red marking.

"What is it, Paradox?" Z-one asked the man.

Paradox kneeled down before the floating cyborg. "Lord Z-one, I've come to report that Rex Goodwin and the Skeleton Knight are no more. The Signers have eliminated them. And just as Aporia's incarnations had thought, they were plotting against you."

"I am not surprised by this." Z-one indifferently replied. "Rex Goodwin was always one to do things his own way. In any case, it matters not. The Goodwin brothers had outlived their usefulness long ago. The time has come to move ahead with the plan."

"What shall we do, my lord?" Paradox asked.

"You will go to the past and eliminate the Signers." Z-one ordered. "And at the same time, you will finish what Aporia has started. Very soon I shall erase Neo Domino and bring forth a new future, one way or another."

END OF BOOK 2

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, that's it for book two. I would like to explain a few things about the duel real quick. When I make up cards for a story, I usually write out the card's stats and or effects before doing anything else. So when I wrote the effects for Domain of the Earthbound, I had it include Earthbound Immortals, Earthbound Guardians, and Red Nova Dragon as the monsters it could be used for. Of course when I was doing the outline for this duel, I realized that in the duel between Kiryu and Greiger, Kiryu could've used Domain of the Earthbound to negate the effect of Greiger's Earthbound Guardian. So I had to make a quick edit and make it so no card effects could be activated in response to an Earthbound Guardian's effect. Just one of those tiny little error that I overlooked.

So once again, I used an Xyz monster in a 5D's story. This time in the form of Archfiend Emperor Dragon-Crimson Nova. It just seemed kind of fair to do that, since Yusei and Aki got an Xyz monster in book one. Plus the Xyz monsters are sort of represent something in this trilogy that I hope will become clearer in the next story. So I hope no one's ticked off that I used an Xyz monster again.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story. Actually this story ended up being a little hard for me to write. Partly because of some personal issues that have been going on in my life right now. And I sort of feel like there are some parts of this story I could've done better. All and all though, I think it turned out pretty well. But of course this story isn't over yet. We've dealt with Aporia, and we've dealt with the Goodwin bothers. In the next story comes the final battle. All I'm going to say right now about the next story is that it's going to be big and include a lot of "guest stars".

So stay tuned for: **5D's Alternative Book 3: The God of Time**

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


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